Mutants of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl
by Bakkughan
Summary: Instead of being born in the 1880's, James Howlett was born a hundred years earlier, a couple of decades before the birth of Jack Sparrow. Having sailed the seven seas, our favorite mutant finds himself in the dungeons of Port Royal, where he meets our favorite pirate.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** To those of you who are reading my story right now, welcome and thank you. To those of you who aren't reading my story, well I can't really say anything to you, but you are missing out on something. I hope. This is my very first fanfiction. Ever. Not just on this site, but the first time I have written anything at all about a franchise. This story was born when I was watching PoC: Dead Man's Chest and thought to myself, 'Wolverine would be awesome in this.' And then I thought, well why not, and came here to find just the thing. Only it wasn't there. So I decided that if I can't read it, I'll just write it.

Well that's enough of me. I'll just give you the premise of the story and then we can all get on with it.

Instead of being born in the 1880's, James Howlett was born a hundred years and then some ago, a few decades before Jack Sparrow. Having sailed the world, he ends up in the dungeons of Port Royal, where he meets our favorite pirate.

 **AN 2:** Edited on 1 januari

* * *

 **Chapter 1- Jack**

Looking out at the harbour of Port Royal from his dark and dank prison cell Captain Jack Sparrow decided he was not having a good day. Oh, the day had started out just fine. He had managed to make port in Port Royal – though making port was a generous term considering the fact his boat was now on the bottom of the harbour – and had spent a rather fun time entertaining himself with some of the Navy's not so best and brightest.

While regaling the Navy men with some of his exploits, both true and false, he was trying to find a way to steal, sorry, sorry, _commandeer_ one of the fine ships that were floating majestically at the edge of the harbour. He was interrupted in his tale by a young woman who fell into the waters, and the Navy's incapability to swim – the irony of which did not escape Jack – prompted him to jump after her into the waters himself. After that he had managed to save the pretty lady from drowning – or choking, depending on what your view is on corsets- which, if past experience was anything to go on, meant that this good day would turn in an even better night.

Then everything went belly up when he saw her medallion. He would recognize the golden piece of jewellery anywhere. He knew what it was, what its curse would call from the seas. And he had no idea how he felt about that.

Before he could really comprehend the meaning of the medallion, he was faced with about a dozen rifle-bearing Navy men –including aforementioned not so best and brightest, the traitors!-, a rather excessively irate Commodore, and a father who apparently was unable to decide whether he wanted to hang him or shoot him.

Of course he escaped; he was _Captain_ Jack Sparrow after all, even managing to free himself from his shackles in a nearby smithy, only to run afoul of an employee of said smithy. A fierce young blacksmith, who was also a surprisingly good swordsman.

"Five hours a day, eh?" Jack murmured to himself, letting out a grin which showed a couple of golden teeth.

After getting somehow knocked out, Jack found himself chained once more and dragged to the prisons of the keep, which stood overlooking the harbor of Port Royal, leading him to his current position of dwelling on his definitely not good day.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Jack took stock of his surroundings. His cell was not that large, but not cramped and as far as prison cells went, rather clean. Many of the cells were empty, except for the one next to him, which held several men.

Looking around once more, Jack saw that his initial assessment had been wrong. His own cell was already occupied before he was thrown in. In the corner of the cell, leaning against the wall, was a man dressed in a red duster and high boots. The man had a brawny look about him from what Jack could see, but he had a hat pulled low over his face. The only thing Jack could make out was a couple of heavy sideburns.

The man pretended to be sleeping, and if it were not for the fact that Jack had perfected the surprisingly useful skill himself, he would have been fooled by the man's performance. Deciding to take the initiative, Jack swaggered to the man's side, noting from the corner of his eye that the men in the next cell were giving him fearful looks.

"You know, it's rather rude to bein' pretendin' to be sleepin' when one receives company, eh mate?" Jack said with a grin, showing of his golden teeth again.

His only reply was an amused snort from the man in the corner. The man tilted his head a bit, and Jack found himself looking in a single eye, that assessed him from under the rim of the brawny man's hat. Despite feeling suddenly rather uncomfortable, or perhaps because of it, Jack pushed on.

"Since it appears we are to be sharing these magnificent rooms before our impending and tragic death arrives, may I have your name, eh?" Jack asked, trying to keep his grin up, though at this point it began to feel more as a grimace.

The single eye that was trained on Jack had not blinked even once during Jack's question, still staring at him, as if it was searching for something. After a few tense seconds it apparently found what it was looking for, because the man let out another amused snort and the eye closed as the hat tipped down again, obscuring the man's face once more. Dimly Jack realized he heard a few relieved sighs from the prisoners in the next cell.

"Sure, 'suppose you've got a point there, bub.", the man growled out.

Jack found the voice to be oddly... feral. The man's hat tilted back fully, showing his entire face for the first time. The first thing Jack noted was that the face was rather fierce, with it being surrounded by the heavy sideburns and a mane of wild black hair. Fiery eyes, not what one would expect in a prison cell, looked out at the world in defiance.

"The name's James", the man growled.

"James Howlett".

* * *

 **Fun fact:** Hugh Jackman, known for portraying the Wolverine in film, was originally considered for the role of Jack Sparrow but at the time was still rather unknown, so the role went to Depp.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Hello everyone, and welcome to the second chapter of my story. Thanks to all of you who have read my first chapter and to those who have not read it, I have to ask, why are you starting a story at the second part? Without further ado, the continuation of our story, this time from the POV of James.

 **AN 2:** Updated on 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 2-James**

James Howlett took in the man who was to be his cellmate. The first thing that James noticed was the man's unique hairstyle, being made out of several threads with widely differing ornaments woven into them. The second thing he noticed was the man's odd manner of walking: swaying on his feet as if he was drunk or something, but James didn't smell any alcohol on him. At least, he didn't smell any _fresh_ alcohol.

As James finished taking in the man's attire he thought to himself, ' _Pirate_. _That one is definitely a pirate.'_

"So, who may you be then, bub?" James growled at the man, who leaned away from him, bending oddly at the waist.

A grin which showed several golden teeth was his answer.

"Mate, I am _Captain_ Jack Sparrow.", Jack said to him, an anticipating look on his face.

"Never heard of ye."

James had to clamp down his jaw to keep himself from laughing at the crestfallen look on Jack's face.

"So then, _Captain_ Sparrow", James continued mockingly, making a show of looking around their small cell, "where is your ship?"

"I'm in the market for one."

James raised a disbelieving brow at that.

"And how do you find the market then, bub?", he asked.

"Rather dry at the moment", came the nonchalant response.

James let out a barking laugh.

"Aye, 'suppose it is", he chuckled.

Apparently satisfied that his cellmate was not immediately dangerous or particularly disturbed, Jack walked over to the other corner of the cell, continuing their conversation.

"So, what has landed such an upstanding fellow, such as yourselves, in such a dreary place like this then?" Jack asked without batting an eye.

"Got into a fight with some redcoats, got meself arrested for it."

It had been rather stupid of him really. A couple of marines who were off duty had too much to drink at the local tavern and decided, with the unique logic only the drunk possess, to start some trouble. James, who happened to be at the tavern at the time, quietly nursing his drink, decided to finish it.

He had succeeded for the most part, but overlooked one of the marines, who snuck up behind him and bashed in his skull with something heavy. Being who he was, he survived of course, but it did knock him out. Next thing he knew, he was looking out at the harbor through bars.

"Ah, the crime of disorderly conduct, quite possibly, in my honest and humble opinion, the greatest of conducts one can find hisself conducting when committing a crime."

James looked at his companion, who seemed as if he was remembering something with fondness. Jack suddenly shot him a sly look.

"You know mate, I think one such as yourself would find a great many favorable pastimes to participate in, should he find himself in Tortuga."

"Tortuga? Aye, I know it well", James chuckled.

"Oh, do tell mate." Jack told him, a grin on his face.

"Because if I am not horribly and greatly mistaken about my own memories, I would wager to say I know it better."

James let out a laugh.

"You're on, bub."

And so, as the sun began its decent into the sea, and its rays of light were beginning to be replaced by candle fire and torches, in the depths of the keep of Port Royal, two unusual men were trading even more unusual stories back and forth.

* * *

Night had fallen over Port Royal, sending its inhabitants hurriedly finishing up their tasks in order to go to bed, or preparing themselves for their nightshifts. Except for several men in the dungeons and a single dog. In the dungeons of Port Royal, James Howlett looked on amused as his fellow inmates in the cell next to him tried to lure the dog - which for some reason appeared to be the warden- with a bone.

Briefly James thought on the absurdity of having a dog as a warden but let it slide. It was none of his business who the locals appointed to certain positions, if they decided that the dog was good enough for them, then it was good enough for James.

"You can keep doin' that forever, the dog is never goin' to move" a lazy voice drawled out.

James spared a glance at the man who shared his cell. Like him, _Captain_ Jack Sparrow, as he insisted on being called despite a distinct lack of ship and crew, had been pretended to be sleeping. Now he looked at the desperate men in the cell next to them with an amused air about him.

"You'll forgive us for not havin' resigned ourselves to the gallows just yet", one of the man with a sallow face and dirty clothes spat at Jack.

Deciding to add his two pieces of eight to the conversation James spoke up.

"The gallows ain't so bad, bub."

Feeling the fearful eyes of the men and the curious ones of Jack on him, James let out a grin.

"As long as you don't die, they're harmless."

The men all shot him dirty looks, but James' hearing picked up a muffled snort of amusement from Jack. As the other men went back to trying to tempt their furry warden, James leaned over to Jack.

"So much for _gallows_ humor, eh?" he murmured out the corner of his mouth, soft enough for only Jack to hear.

This time, the snort was not so muffled and drew the attention of the croup of dirty criminals next to them.

"My sincerest apologies, my good men, please continue as you were", Jack told them with false politeness, causing James to be the one to stifle a snort this time.

All possible further conversation was abruptly cut off as the sound of cannon fire was heard loud and clear.

"An attack? Why? Who is attacking?", James asked at nobody in particular.

"I can only guess at why mate, but I can tell you who."

James looked at Jack, who appeared unusually grim.

"I would know those cannons everywhere."

* * *

 **AN:** A little short, I know, but I'm trying to find a rithm between chapters, since I only want one POV per chapter. Meh, we'll figure it out.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Welcome back to the next chapter of MoC! In this chapter something will be adressed that has always somewhat bothered me aout the curse of the Black Pearl. The crew of the Pearl are made of bone, they are literally walking skeletons, right? So why not take a hammer to them and start breaking stuff? It's shown in the movie that it works, when Elizabeth frees the crew of Sparrow by smashing their skeletal guards to bits with a boat.

Anyway, I thought a savvy pirate such as Jack Sparrow would figure out something useful, so I made him notice it, who knows what he'll come up with.

Let's get on with it.

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 3-Jack**

As Jack raced to the barred window looking out at the harbor, his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. There was fear, anger and oddly a bit of hope. Hope for what Jack didn't know. As he arrived at the window and finally saw the source of the canon fire any further thought was halted. There she was. A ship with black sails. A ship said to be cursed. The fastest and most feared ship to sail these waters. _His_ ship.

"It's the _Pearl_ ", he whispered softly, a smile coming unbidden to his face.

"The _Black Pearl_?" one of the criminals asked fearfully.

"I've heard stories. She's been preyin' on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."

As a collective shiver ran up the men's spines, Jack could not help but feel saddened. The _Black Pearl_ was never meant for this. She was meant to give a man absolute freedom, to go where he pleased, with only the wind in his back and his compass to go by. The _Pearl_ was meant for adventure, not raiding and pillaging. Hiding his melancholy, he turned to the man who had spoken up.

"No survivors eh?"

The man nodded.

"Well, where do all the stories come from then I wonder."

As the men exchanged thoughtful looks with each other, Jack heard a barking laugh come from behind him.

' _James would have liked the Pearl when she was sailing with the purpose she was meant for'._

Ignoring the unbidden thought, Jack turned back to the window. However, when he did, his eyes widened. One of the cannons on the _Black Pearls_ port side just went off, and its ammunition appeared to be headed towards the cells of the keep. More specifically, it appeared to be headed straight towards him.

Before Jack could do anything but think, ' _Oh bugger_ ', he felt himself getting yanked away from the window and thrown across the cell. The moment his back hit the ground, the wall exploded in dust and stone. As he sat up coughing Jack looked around.

"Howlett! Howlett, you still alive mate!?"

As the dust settled, Jack saw two things. The first was that James was lying face down on the ground, the back of his head covered in blood, most likely due to some of the debris. Jack couldn't tell if he was still alive or not. The second thing he noticed made him think the Fates had decided to use him as their personal laughingstock. He never really liked the old crones and as he looked at the hole in the wall, he could not help but feel as though the feeling was mutual.

Now, normally one would think that a hole in a prison cell would be a joyous occasion for it's very occupant. And hundreds of prison escapees in the years to come would attest to that, with added help from things such as pulleys, tunnels and posters. But as Jack looked at the hole made by the cannon fire he realized that, for a hole to help you get _out_ of your cell, the hole had to actually be _in_ your cell.

The hole made by the _Black Pearl_ smashed in the wall a little to the right of where the bars between cells met the outer wall. Meaning that while there was a hole in their cell, it was made impossibly small by the bars. To add insult to injury, the cell next to them almost had no back wall anymore, it being completely blown apart by the cannon fire.

"My sympathies friend! You've got no manner of luck at all!" one of the inmates shouted at Jack, before they all left, cackling at their ill-gotten freedom.

Jack felt both helpless and hopeless as he watched them leave. Deciding to be productive in any way he could, just to keep his mind from dreary thoughts, Jack quickly checked on James. Seeing his steady breathing brought a small measure of relief. Between the two of them, maybe they could figure out a use for the hole, which was barely good enough to let through a dog.

' _Speaking of dogs...'_

The next half hour saw Captain Jack Sparrow on his knees in a prison cell, trying to lure his warden closer with a tasty bone to chew on. The situation was made much less disturbing by the fact that the warden was a dog. Finally, after what felt as hours to Jack, the dog began to move slowly towards him.

"Come on, come on, just a little closer, just a little closer you filthy, slimy, mangy character."

Jack was so focused on the dog, he didn't hear the commotion at the top of the stairs. The dog did though and ran off.

"No! I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!"

Jack looked up startled at the commotion as it arrived at the bottom of the stairs. A young marine was lying on the floor, his slumped over position indicating that he was already dead. Suddenly two men arrived, both having a scruffy and cruel look about them.

Jack slowly stood up, somewhat surprised at his lack of surprise at seeing them. It made sense after all, because if the ship was here, then naturally the crew must be as well. The crew that betrayed him and left him to die.

Hiding the sudden spike of anger behind a neutral face, Jack watched as the men finally noticed him.

"Well well well, look who we have here." one of them said as they approached him.

" _Captain_ Jack Sparrow", the man continued, spitting at Jack's feet.

The other man spoke up.

"Last I saw you, you were all alone, on a god forsaken island, shrinking into the distance."

The men shared a harsh laugh.

"His fortune aren't improved much." the man smugly continued.

Unable to completely keep a lid on his emotions, Jack decided to taunt them.

"Worry 'bout your own fortune gentlemen."

The men looked at him suspiciously.

"They say the deepest circles of hell are reserved for betrayers and mutineers." Jack finished with a grin.

The look on the men's faces changed from suspicion to outright fury. Suddenly, the hand from one of the men shot out and grabbed Jack by the throat. Moonlight fell on the arm, revealing it to be nothing but bone and rags.

"So there is a curse." said Jack as his mind began to race.

"That's interesting."

"You know nothing of hell", spat the man holding him at the throat.

He made to pull away, but suddenly a large hand clamped down on the bone of his arm.

"You know what the problem is with bone bub?" a feral voice growled out.

Everyone looked to Jacks left, where James stood, hale and whole again, with a snarl on his face. There was a tension in the air, as if they all knew they were in the presence of a predator higher on the food chain than them.

"They break!" roared James as he suddenly yanked the man's arm sideways, bending it 90 degrees sideways at the elbow.

Jack couldn't help but wince. Arms were not supposed to bend like that. The man let out a howl of pain and violently pulled back his arm.

"You'll pay for that!" the man roared at James, and before Jack could say or do anything, he took out his sword and slammed it up into James' chest, who let out a pained grunt.

Jack looked on in horror as blood began to pool out of the wound onto James' shirt. The man who stabbed him let out a cruel grin and opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his throat. Confused, Jack looked up from James' chest and suddenly found himself in the same position as his ex-crewmen. Because standing tall, with a look of fury on his face and a cutlass sticking out of his chest, James Howlett was glaring at the man who tried to kill him.

"It's gonna take a lot more than what you've got to take me down bub." James snarled as he pulled out the sword.

Jack could not help but look on fascinated as the gaping wound closed itself before his very eyes, until within seconds, the only proof left of the mortal wound was a bloody shirt with a hole in it.

"That's _very_ interesting." he murmured softly enough for only him to hear.

Having recovered from his shock the murderous and mutilated man took out his pistol apparently intend on finding a way to finish the job, but he was pulled back by his companion.

"We ain't got no time for this, we gotta head back, we can tell the captain about it on the ship." the other man urged him.

Reluctantly the would-be murderer followed, his arm bent oddly at the elbow which appeared to be causing him discomfort. Jack filed the information away, as it seemed useful. He turned to his companion, questions on the tip of his tongue, only to come face to face with James, who did not look happy.

' _Apparently, gettin' brutally stabbed is not conductive to one's mood. Huh, who knew?'_

"Don't ask." James gruff voice broke through his thoughts.

"But I..."

"No"

"But..."

"NO"

"Think of the..."

" **NO** ", James said harshly.

Jack shut his mouth, looking quizzically at the man who had just become a whole lot more interesting. James turned away.

"Don't ask question to where there's no answer to."

Jack looked closer at the, apparently immortal, man's face and saw that James looked troubled.

"Alright mate, I won't ask then." _'-yet'_

James turned back to Jack.

"Thank you." he said softly.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm trying out different lay outs, trying to find one which reads naturally and smoothly, let me know what you think :)


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** This chapter will be told from the POV of Will Turner.

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 Februari 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 4-Will**

As William Turner stormed towards the dungeons of the keep of Port Royal, he could not help but question whether or not the blow to the back of the head last night had done some severe damage to his brains. Because what he was about to was illegal, reckless, incredibly risky and just... Stupid. Really, really stupid. The kind of stupid that ends with you dead in really unpleasant and disturbing ways.

He almost faltered in his step, but suddenly a picture of Ms. Swa... _Elizabeth_ appeared in his mind. Beautiful Elizabeth, who always had a smile for him, was taken by the most ruthless and lawless of men to walk the earth. Well, not really walk on the earth, more like sailing the seas, but the point remained the same.

Spurred on by the thought he increased his pace as he came upon the steps leading to the prison cells. He quickly descended them, arriving at the current abode of the pirate known only as Captain Jack Sparrow. He came to a sudden halt.

There were two reasons for that, the first being a god awful sound that grated on the ears. It sounded like a cat was being skinned alive. Slowly. With a spoon or something. The second reason that halted Will's stride was the origin of the grinding and shrieking noise. Because there, hunched over, Jack Sparrow himself was filing away at the bars between him and freedom with an intense look of concentration in his face and throwing his whole body into the motion of filing with such wild abandon that the threads in his hair were whipping around his head like headless snakes.

Will took a step back when he saw what Jack was using as his instrument of achieving freedom. A sword. A _bloodied_ sword. Apparently alerted by the sound of Will's footstep, a feat in and of itself, given the loud noise right under the pirates' nose, Jack suddenly looked up at Will, appearing to be startled. Seeing Will's wary look at the bloodied weapon in his hands, Jack let out a sheepish grin.

"No worries mate, it ain't mine."

Before Will could say anything to that unexpected statement a gruff voice broke the slight tension between Will and the pirate.

"Aye, that's cause it's mine, bub."

Will looked further into the cell where he could see a man standing half in the shadows, making his torso and face nothing but a dark silhouette.

"And I am truly and forever grateful for your sacrifice mate." Jack answered the figure, clasping his hands and giving an odd little bow with his head.

The figure appeared to want to give an answer, but Will quickly stepped in trying to control of the conversation no matter how weird or disturbing it had turned. Elizabeth needed him, and he needed Jack.

"You, Sparrow!"

Jack looked back up at Will.

"Aye?"

"You're familiar with the ship _The Black Pearl_?"

For a second Will thought he saw something like sadness flash behind Jack's eyes, but it was gone so quickly he could have imagined it.

"I've heard of it." came the weary reply.

Will had to bite his tongue to keep up from screaming in annoyance. The pirate was obviously guarded and would be loath to give up any information whatsoever. Still, he had to try, so he continued his questioning.

"Where does it make berth?"

A snort came from the man still standing in the shadows.

"I take it you ain't heard the stories then about the _Pearl_ , bub?" the figure asked him.

Will could not help but look confused. Apparently taking that as his queue, Jack let out a sigh.

"Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It is an island that can't be found _except_ " Jack held up a finger looking slyly at Will "by those who already know where it is."

Will frowned at the cryptic statement.

"The ship is real enough, therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where?"

"Why ask me?" Jack asked idly, checking his fingernails.

At this Will floundered a bit.

"Because you're a pirate." he stated as if it was obvious.

Another snort came from the man who had yet to step out of the shadows. Will began to really dislike that snort.

"And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?"

For a second Will was filled with anger, leaning sharply towards the bars, not seeing the shadowed figure tensing up.

"Never!" he heatedly said to Jack, who looked somewhat surprised at the outburst.

"Easy there bub." the gruff voice said, but not in an aggressive manner.

Will backed up a little bit, regaining control of his temper. After a few seconds he reluctantly told the pirate the reason for his desperation.

"They took Miss Swan."

He immediately regretted telling the pirate, who now had a gleeful expression on his face.

"OOHH, so it IS that you found a girl!" Jack crowed.

The figure in the back of the cell shifted.

"A girl?" the feral voice questioned.

Will could feel his cheeks heating up. It was bad enough that _one_ criminal knew about his affections towards Elizabeth, but now there would be _two_! And that after a single day of the first one finding out! Suddenly Will blanched as he envisioned something horrifying. The entire seedy underbelly of the British Empire laughing and gossiping about the orphan blacksmith boy in love with the governor's daughter. Jack's response broke him out of his terrible vision.

"Aye mate, see, our little blacksmith here trains five hours a day… with his _sword_." Jack drawled out, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Will could feel blood rapidly returning to his face as he felt the questioning gaze of the second man on him.

"It's not, I mean, eh, he is…." Will desperately tried to say something but nothing he could say right now would make him look any better.

"Relax bub, I get it." the gruff voice sounded amused.

"Well, when I asked why, he refused an honest answer, so I divined that it was for a girl." Jack continued his story, a grin still on his face.

"And, so it would seem, my divining was correct."

Jack focused back on Will, looking more serious now.

"If you intend to brave all, hasten to her rescue you will have to do it alone mate. I see no profit in it for me."

Will felt his heart drop to somewhere below his feet.

"He won't have to do it alone."

At first Will thought he heard it wrong.

"What?" "What!" he and Jack simultaneously asked.

A short laugh was their answer and the man finally stepped into the light, showing Will his face for the first time. A wild mane of dark hair framed a fierce face with heavy sideburns. The man wore a wide grin.

"Seems as if you've got yourself a partner bub." the man said to Will.

Will answered the man's grin with a shaky smile of his own.

* * *

 **AN:** Fun fact: In the comics, it's been told that the name of Wolverine's mother, and by that notion, also the mother of Sabretooth, is Elizabeth. I had already decided on James taking Will's side, but was stuck on a motivation better than simply pity. This information tied in nicely, so it will definetely make an appearance in a later chapter.

 **AN 2:** Some bad and good news. Bad news is that I will probably not upload for a week or so, as I will be on holidays without any internet connection. Good news is that I will be on holidays without any internet connection, so I expect I will manage to write quite a lot of chapters before I return. So when I return, expect daily updates again for a while.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Well, I managed to upload, though it wasn't easy. This is even my longest chapter so far, clocking in at almost 2.5k words, which is almost a thousands words longer than my other chapters! This chapter will be told from the POV of James.

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 5-James**

As James was walking along the bottom of the harbor, ships floating above his head, he looked over at his companions. Or rather, he looked at a tipped over longboat which was moving along with him at an equal pace. The boat managed this unusual feat thanks to the two pairs of legs sticking out under, or rather sticking out above of it.

James shook his head at the plan his pirate friend had seemingly made up just on the spot, though James was experienced enough to see the scheme underneath it all. James frowned as he thought about the pirate. After he had promised his help to young Will Turner, Jack had turned unexpectedly surly.

* * *

 _"Well even if you decide to help our smitten blacksmith here save his distressing damsel in distress, she is out there and we, my friend, are in here." Jack said scornfully._

 _James looked at the sullen pirate in surprise. Sure, the man was a pirate and a captain at that, but even so, Jack simply didn't strike him as a malicious man._

 _"I can get you out!"_

 _James turned towards the younger man. The desperate blacksmith did have an air about him of a man willing to break any laws in his way, but didn't appear as one already well-versed in doing so. Looking somewhat sheepishly between Jack and James, who were both giving him odd looks, Will explained himself._

 _"These are half barrel hinges." Will explained, as he pointed at the hinges connecting the door to the rest of the cell._

 _He began to look for something in the dungeons, continuing his rapid explanation, with both inmates looking on, unsure of what to make out of all of it._

 _"With the proper leverage." Will grunted, dragging a bench to the occupied cell._

 _"And the right amount of strength." Will gave another grunt as he lifted one end of the bench, placing its legs in the door at waist height._

 _He looked at the two inmates, a grin on his flushed face._

 _"This door will come free." he triumphantly finished._

 _James glanced at Jack, who had a similar look of surprise on his face. James let out a laugh and turned to Will._

 _"Heh, I'm starting to like you bub." he grinned._

 _Before Will could answer, Jack interrupted._

 _"Tell me, what is your name lad?"_

 _"Will. Will Turner."_

* * *

Jack had turned really thoughtful at the answer and had then unexpectedly agreed to help Will on his quest, though he refused to tell James why when he had asked about the pirate's sudden change of heart.

"There's a lot to be told in one's name, mate, and young Will's name told me more than just a lot." was all the pirate was willing to say. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts from Jack's schemes, James focused on their objective. Ahead of him, the hull of an enormous galley shadowed a great part of the sea floor. Quickly making his way towards it, James couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

 _'Let's see how the men of His Majesty's Navy deal with a drowned man walking across their deck'_.

By now, both he and the four legged boat had reached the anchor of the mighty ship. Jack and Will quickly threw the boat off themselves and started climbing the line which connected the anchor to the rest of the ship, James hot on their heels. Hot being used figuratively here, since drowning left one rather cold as James found out to his displeasure.

All three of them broke the waterline as quietly as possible, Will and Jack softly trying to get as much air as possible in soft, shallow gasps and James trying to hack up all the water in his lungs without alerting the men on the deck of the ship. Having composed themselves as best as they could, the three men looked at each other.

"Ready?" Jack asked his companions with a massive grin on his face, looking for all the world as if he was immensely enjoying himself, something James thought might very well be true.

A firm nod from James and a shaky one from Will was all the answer the pirate needed as he began to climb the line towards the upper part of the ship, quickly vaulting over the low balustrade that lined the ships upper deck. Will followed Jack's lead, a determined look on his face now, with James right behind him.

All three men made their way towards the front part of the ship as stealthily as possible, where both Jack and James identified the man who was probably in command at the moment. Jack pulled his pistol from his belt and quickly walked up to the man, who turned at the sound of the pirates footsteps.

"Everyone stay calm! We are taking over this ship!" Jack shouted at the men, who gave each other quizzical looks.

James grinned, so far so good.

"Aye, avast!"

James' grin fell. He and Jack exchanged looks of exasperation before turning to Will, who looked decidedly sheepish. The crewmen let out a laud laugh, making Will's ears turn red. The commander turned towards the would be stealers of his ship and smugly told them, "This ship cannot be crewed by three men; you'll never even make it out of the bay."

James growled low in his chest and took a step towards the men.

"I have a feeling bub, the three of us will be just fine" he said, as he lifted his arm, and allowed his claws to slowly slide out between each of his knuckles.

The crewmen all gained horrified looks at seeing the pointed bones and after a few tense seconds scrambled for the longboats in a panic. Within a minute the deck was deserted save for the three criminals. Jack and Will turned to him; Jack with a curious look on his face and obviously restraining himself from asking questions by the minute and Will simply looking confused.

"What are those?" Will asked him, but without any hint of suspicion or wariness, simply being curious.

James smiled at that. On his travels he had met precious few people who were so open to the new and unknown, Will's reaction to him after seeing his claws was refreshing. He turned to his companions.

"When we get out of this I'll answer all your questions best I can."

He looked at Jack.

" _All_ of them."

Jack grinned at the statement.

"Well, let's get to getting us out of here then, eh?"

Quickly the three comrades scrambled to their positions, trying to get everything ready for the next stage of the plan.

* * *

James was standing next to Jack at the helm of the _HMS Dauntless_ when Will came running up to them.

"They're coming!"

James turned to look out behind them. Sure enough, a sleek ship was steadily gaining on them. He had to admit, the _Interceptor_ certainly lived up to its name as it cut through the waves in pursuit of its prey. James turned to Jack, who only grinned. He gave a nod and they quickly hid themselves as the _Interceptor_ glided alongside them.

James held his breath as he heard the sound of grappling hooks lodging themselves to the balustrade of the _Dauntless_. While he was certain that he would come out of a confrontation with the crew of the _Interceptor_ alive, he always came out alive in the end after all, the same could not be said for his two friends. Whatever power kept him from dying, it didn't do the same for them. They had to pull this part off without being seen or he would have to watch as their feet stopped twitching when they all were hanged.

Shaking off the sudden and morbid thought, James looked towards Jack as several marines and sailors boarded the _Dauntless._ Suddenly they heard a commanding voice call out, ordering the sailors and marines around.

"Search every cabin, every hole down to the bilge!"

Jack looked at him and Will and gave a quick nod. After the last of the sailors and Navy men boarded the _Dauntless_ James, Jack and Will each grabbed a rope dangling from the masts above them and swung themselves towards freedom. In this case, freedom being the now unguarded _Interceptor_.

James took only a second to quietly laugh at whoever commanded the boarding. There was not even a single sailor left on the ship, being all currently on the _Dauntless._ Whoever had been in command wanted Jack, or Will, bad enough he had committed all of his troops, an unwise move. An unwise move his pirate friend was very keen on pointing out by sailing away with the man's own ship.

Will grabbed a nearby lying hatchet and he popped out his claws as Jack moved towards the helm of the ship. Together, the blacksmith and the immortal cut the _Interceptor_ loose from the _Dauntless_. The moment Will hacked through the last boarding line, their ship began to majestically glide out towards open sea, leaving Port Royal and a ship with a very angry Commodore behind them.

James and Will joined Jack at the wheel of the ship. Jack turned back towards the _Dauntless_ , where Commodore Norrington could be seen, and took of his hat.

"Thank you Commodore, for getting us ready to make way!"

James laughed and added; "We couldn't have done this without you!"

Apparently getting dragged into the boisterous air of his companions, Will decided to add his own two pieces of eight.

"After all, there's only _three_ of us!" he called out, making James and Jack laugh even harder.

Jack turned towards his companions, a wide grin on his face.

"How long you reckon, 'till they figure out their rudder chain's disabled?"

* * *

James leaned against the side of the ship, standing on the deck above the captain's quarters. Standing at the wheel of the ship, Jack somehow managed to give him a penetrating look while still looking on straight ahead, appearing for all the world to be completely unawares of his companions. Will was trying to be as nonchalant as Jack but it clearly didn't go all that well, since he kept giving James furtive glances.

Having decided that he had let them squirm long enough and that, if they really were going on an adventure together, he at least owed them to tell them as much as he knew, James cleared his throat. Will tensed up immediately, looking at him intently, but Jack turned at him slowly, a false expression of surprise on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Howlett, something you wish to share?" he said in an faux innocent voice.

James simply grunted.

"Aye, you wanted answers, you're getting' em."

At this, Jack couldn't keep up his façade and leaned over to him, looking something between gleeful and serious.

"You're not mortal."

James simply nodded.

Will spoke up.

"That's how you managed to get to the ship, I thought you were simply holding your breath or something, but you simply… didn't drown."

At this Will looked at him with a troubled expression.

"You're both almost right."

Seeing both men looking at him intently, James sighed and continued.

"Yes, I am immortal, but not in the sense that I do not die. I simply don't… stay dead, I suppose. I heal from any damage; including drowning."

As he said the last part, he nodded to Will, who gained a look of understanding.

"You did drown."

"Aye, and I got better."

"And what about, _these_ things?"

James turned towards Jack, who was gesturing wildly at his knuckles. In response, James let his claws slide out of his hands, holding them up towards the two men, who both leaned forward almost synchronized. Withholding a snort, James explained the two sets of bones coming out of his arms.

"As far as I can figure, they're claws. They're made of the same bone as the rest of my skeleton and they rest inside my forearms."

James looked at the claws coming out between each of his knuckles. They were both a part of him and a mystery. How often had he asked himself the same question the men in front of him were undoubtedly asking themselves as well.

"How did you get them?"

The question came from Will, who had come closer and was running a finger along one of the almost foot long claws. James shrugged, jostling the claws a bit, making Will draw back sharply.

"I've had them as long as I can remember, so I guess I was born with them."

Jack moved closer, looking first at the claws then at the bloody hole still visible in James' shirt. Keeping his eyes on the torn shirt, Jack asked; "You know of anyone who has, ehhh, let's say the same… condition, as you yourself has?"

Jack looked up at James, who sighed.

"Yes, one."

He turned away from his friends, looking out at the sea.

"My brother. Victor Creed."

* * *

 **AN:** I struggled for a long time with what I wanted to do with Victor Creed. I had him join Barbossa's crew, only to betray him and fight alongside his brother, but I also had scenes in which, in the final climax of the story, in the battle at Isla de Muerta, James and Victor would have their own immortal battle alongside Jack and Barbossa. But I had a difficult time getting him into the story, without throwing my plotlessness for a loop, so I scrapped him. Fans of Sabertooth, I'm sorry, but he will not be making an appearance in this story.

However, after talks with my family about the problem, I got the idea to use him in later fics, since I do intend to write a sequel for this fic, keeping in line with the sequels of PoC, so expect an unexpected visit from Captain Creed at the Brethren Court. That's all from me for now, expect chapter six either tomorrow or later today, depending on my acces to the internet and how the editing goes.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** This chapter will be more emotional and serious than the previous ones, though I tried to stay as far away from angst as possible. When I watched the movie I noticed how easily Will takes the news of his father being a pirate, while it is shown mere moments before that he sailed from England to America to search for the man when he was still just a boy and that he hates pirates. I thought there should be a more emotional reaction to it.

I was struggling with the flow of the chapter for a long time, until I struck inspiration at 2 AM, which meant that I had to spent a rather large amount of time the next day editing the chapters, getting out all the errors.

Anyway, that's enough of me. This time, the story will be told from the POV of Will.

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 6-Will**

Will sat sharpening his sword, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. Here he was, a young blacksmith who had a promising future ahead of him, only to throw it all away in the pursuit of love. Now he was sailing on a stolen ship with a pirate, who appeared to be far more cunning and dangerous than he had let on and an immortal man with bone claws. Will looked up at Jack as he walked by, his thoughts swirling about the pirate who had suddenly decided to help him.

 _'He only wanted to help me after he had learned my name. My name. What's so special about my name? It's just the name I got from my father, wherever he may be.'_

At that all of Will's thoughts grounded to a halt.

 _'My father. What could Jack possibly know about my father?'_

As always, he was filled with anger when he thought about the man who should have raised him, the man who should have been there for him. Instead, Will had to be content with merely the stories his mother would tell about the man. As Jack walked past again, a keen eye on the sails, Will decided there was no time as the present to find out if those stories held true.

"When I was a lad, living in England, my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father." Will looked up at Jack, who was walking towards the helm of the ship, apparently not really paying attention.

"'S that so?" came the distracted reply.

Will pushed on.

"My father? Bill Turner?"

He stood up and approached Jack, who had a resigned look on his face.

"At the jail, even after James promised me his aid, you only promised yours after you knew my name. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter."

There was a pause as Will stared intently at Jack who had began to mess around with some of the rigging which Will could've sworn was already properly tied.

"I am not a simpleton Jack. You knew my father."

Having said that, Will immediately felt a tension fall between him and the pirate. Jack gave a last half-hearted tug on the rigging, before giving a sigh. He turned and faced Will, an expression between resignation and determination on his face. He gave a sharp nod.

"I knew him. Probably one of the few that knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill."

At that he turned away from Will and walked towards the wheel of the _Interceptor_.

"Bootstrap?" Will said more to himself than anyone, but apparently Jack heard the question and answered.

"Good man. Good pirate."

Having said that, he turned towards Will with a grin.

"I swear you look just like him."

Many years later, on the very few occasions someone would ask about his father, and on the even fewer occasions when he would answer, Will would tell that the news that his father was a pirate registered in many different ways simultaneously. It felt as if a man as strong as an ox punched him in the gut so hard, his organs were either gone completely or had taken up residence in different parts of his body. At the same time as his organs felt as if they had become dislodged, there was a sensation as if someone had taken a chunk of ice, had allowed the ice to melt just enough to let it pass as a liquid, and had then poured the ice water directly into his veins, making both his hart and his lungs contract painfully.

There was a crushing disappointment when the realization hit him that his mother's stories weren't true after all. Immediately there was an urge of outright denial, to which Will clasped on to with all of his might, trying to refute what he already could feel parts of his mind accepting.

"It's not true."

He hated how, what was meant as a firm statement full of confidence and conviction, had come out as a desperate plea. Still he continued.

"He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law."

At this Jack rounded on him, but his voice was simply irritated instead of angry.

"He was a bloody pirate and a scallywag."

It would be only later that Will understood the veiled olive branch that the pirate had offered him, by making himself an outlet for Will's emotions, even if at this point it was only to release them in the form of anger. At the moment though, Will simply took hold of the anger and allowed it to chase away his disappointment and his confusion, quickly drawing his sword.

"My father was not a pirate!"

He could see Jack slump a little bit at the sound of the drawn steel. In an unusually soft voice, the pirate captain said; "Put it away son. It's not worth getting beaten for."

Will immediately replied in a heated voice; "You didn't beat me in a fair fight. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you."

At this, Jack turned to him, a small smile on his face.

"Well, that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?"

Before Will could realize what the slippery captain was up to, Jack wildly turned the wheel, making the crossbeams of one of the lower sails swing around, hitting Will in the stomach and sweeping him off the deck. Will held on tightly with both hands as he had lost his sword when he got hit by the mast. He looked back towards the deck, where he saw Jack picking up his sword and walking towards the balustrade.

"Now, as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention." the pirate told him.

"The only rules that matter are these. What a man _can_ do, and what a man _can't_ do."

Will stopped his struggling, taken off guard by the sudden life lesson.

"For instance," Jack continued as he walked back towards the wheel, "you can accept that your father was a good man _and_ a good pirate, or you can't. The pirate's in your blood boy, so you'll have to square with that one day. I mean, take us for example. I _can_ let you drown," at this nonchalant statement, cold sweat broke out on Will's brow, "but I _can't_ take this ship to Tortuga all by me onesies."

At that a faint 'Oi!' could be heard from the stern of the ship.

"Sorry, sorry, the twoes of us!", Jack called out quickly.

He turned back towards Will, who was eying the pirate warily.

"So" was all he said before turning the wheel again, this time making the mast swing back onto the deck of the ship, unceremoniously dropping Will on the floor.

Will tried to sit up, but found his own sword at his chin. Following the blade up towards its current wielder, Will looked at a serious Jack Sparrow.

" _Can_ you sail under the command of a pirate?"

At this, Jack flipped the blade, presenting the handle to Will.

"Or can you not?"

As he looked at the offered blade, Will noticed that now it were his thoughts, instead of his emotions that were running wild. But still, thoughts could be rationalized, and made more sense than emotions did, so Will considered it a step forward. He still had a lot to think about, but his head was clearer now. He reached out and took his sword back. He looked up at Jack who was wearing a proud smile.

"Tortuga?"

Jack's smile grew wider.

"Aye, Tortuga."

* * *

Will was still deep in thought a couple of hours after his 'discussion' with Jack, when he ran into James, who was leaning against the balustrade, looking out at the sea. He had a sudden thought and turned towards the immortal.

"You could have helped me out, you know?"

The clawed man let out a snort.

"Bub, are you wet?"

Will looked confused and hesitantly answered the random question.

"No, I am not."

At this, James turned and let out a grin.

"Well then, that means that you did good, which means that you _didn't_ need my help."

At this Will stumbled for a reply. Suddenly the other man turned serious.

"'Sides bub, you needed to hear what Jack had to say."

Will couldn't really deny that, since no matter what he thought or felt on the subject of his father, the fact remained that he had needed to know the truth about the man. He let out a sigh.

"It's just difficult to accept." he said softly.

James merely grunted in affirmation and both men fell into a comfortable silence. As Will joined James at the balustrade the immortal started talking.

"When I was but a lad, I was constantly sick. My parents were wealthy, but no matter what doctor they showered in gold, I would not get better."

W

ill listened raptly to the immortal man's story. James continued.

"My father would always sit with me through the night, until the sickness had abated enough so that I could sleep."

James' look of fondness turned to a sorrowful one.

"Then one night, as I was lying in bed, with my father at my side and the son of the caretaker in my room, we heard yelling from downstairs. I recognized the voices. They belonged to the caretaker and my mother."

At this James fell silent. Will was startled to find that sometime during the tale he had begun to hold his breath. Exhaling quietly, he listened attentively as James picked up the story again.

"My father ran downstairs and even as sick as I was, I was too worried about my mother to stay still, so I followed him. As I came to the bottom of the stairs, I looked out across the hall and saw my mother grabbing the caretaker by the arm. The caretaker was holding a rifle and was screaming at my father that he 'needed to see him!'. My mother was crying and my father refused and insisted that the caretaker leave. He didn't and somehow the rifle went off."

Will could not keep from gasping softly. Apparently James didn't hear him, being caught up in his memories.

"There was an enormously loud bang and the next thing I knew my father was lying in his own blood. I felt so much loss, so much rage, I unleashed my claws for the first time."

James lifted his arm and slid out the claws, looking at them sadly. Sheathing them he continued.

"I charged at the killer of my father and plunged them into his chest."

At this, James turned towards Will, who belatedly realized he had stopped breathing again.

"His last words to me were that it was _him_ who was my father."

This time, Will could not contain his gasp. He was unsure of what to say or how to offer his sympathies, but before he could think of something, James turned back towards the sea again.

"The caretaker's son, so my brother, Victor, and I escaped from there. We knew we would be hunted for what we were and what I had done. So we fled and started travelling. And over the course of many, _many_ years I made peace with what happened."

James looked at Will from the corner of his eye, a sad smile on his face.

"So you see Will, you are not the only one who thought their father was someone different than they turned out to be."

Will nodded, quietly absorbing the tale his friend just told him. They stood in comfortable silence again for a few minutes. Suddenly, James pushed off the balustrade and walked over towards the center of the deck, before turning to Will.

"Come on blacksmith, it is a several days journey before we reach Tortuga, enough time for me to teach you a couple of things about fighting."

Will couldn't help but bristle at the statement. He took great pride in his swordsmanship, having not faced his equal in a long time. Well, at least not an equal who kept to the rules of engagement anyway. But spending time with Jack, who was obviously a very experienced criminal, and with James, who as an immortal had done and seen things that, mere days ago, Will would have thought of as the stuff of legends, made Will aware of how new he truly was to this world.

While this was humbling, he at least was assured of the fact that he was either their equal or their better when it came to the sword. So his answer to James' statement was delivered very coolly.

"James, I already know how to fight."

For a moment, there was surprise on James' face before he let out a loud laugh.

"Aye, you know how to fight _with_ a sword bub, but..."

As James trailed off, he started growling deep in his chest, making the hairs on Will's arms stand on end. The immortal man hunched over and started walking menacingly towards Will who hastily drew his sword. Too hastily.

As he was drawing his sword he took his eyes off James for only a second but a second was all the feral man needed. Quickly lunging towards Will, James wrenched the sword free from his grasp, heedless of any cuts he suffered. Having taken Will's sword, he threw it away, making it clatter across the deck. James turned back to Will, growling again.

"... But can you fight _without_ a sword?"

James brought up his arms vertically in front of his face, his hands balled into fists and his legs spread slightly apart.

"You want to survive the inns of Tortuga, you'll have to learn how to brawl. And I _will_ make you learn."

As James said this, he grinned wildly and got a gleam in his eye that sent shivers up Will's spine. Trying to mirror James' stance, Will could not help but think; ' _This is going to hurt. A lot.'_

A few seconds and a punch straight in the face later, Will was looking up at the sky, spots dancing across his vision. Right before darkness claimed him, he had an oddly lucid thought.

 _'I bet that tomorrow the bastard will look just fine.'_

* * *

 **AN:** Honestly, I'm not sure about the use of bastard, since it's not something would Will would really say. But then again, he has been punched in the face, so let's just say he's allowed to think it.

Let me know what you thought about the more serious tone. Next chapter will be the (mis)adventures of the three friends in Tortuga, so I can guarantee it'll be a more lighthearted story.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Uploading this wasn't easy but somehow I managed. In this chapter, Jack and his friends arrive in Tortuga searching for Gibbs.

While watching the movie, in order to stay as true as possible to it, I came across an irregularity in the PoC timeline. Gibbs tells Will that it was Barbossa who led the mutiny against Jack, after Jack had told his first mate the location of Isla de Muerta. It is later revealed that it was during this mutiny that Bootstrap stood up against Barbossa, and found himself on the seafloor for his troubles. However, if that's the case, then how did Bootstrap manage to get a piece of Aztec gold and send it to Will? Since it was only after Barbossa killed Bootstrap that he sailed for the treasure. I'll try to come with a fitting explanation in a later chapter, but I'd like some input from you guys. What do you think happened, that allowed Bootstrap to seemingly time travel?

Without any further ado, chapter 7, the longest chapter so far!

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Jack**

As the multitude of lights from Tortuga's various inns and brothels came into view, Jack couldn't help but grin wildly. He had many fond memories of his stays in the pirate port and even more memories he couldn't quite recall with perfect clarity. Tortuga offered every possible vice to men from every possible walk of life. It didn't matter if you were running away from your inner demons, the law, or your mother-in-law, Tortuga was only too happy to offer refuge.

Like almost every man who dared to call himself pirate, Jack loved Tortuga almost as much as he loved the sea, though his love for the city of crime was born of different reasons than most. Because in Tortuga, the only limit to what you could achieve was based on what you _wanted_ to achieve, instead of your birth, your skin, or the amount of money your family had. Well that and how much you had to drink before you settled on what it was that you wanted to achieve. In Tortuga, the only laws that needed to be followed were your own. There was nobody who could tell somebody else what he could and could not do. More importantly however, there was nobody who could tell _Jack_ what he could and could not do.

In short, Tortuga was the only port where he was as free on land as he was on sea. As the _Interceptor_ approached the harbor, and the sounds and smells of Tortuga's nightly activities made themselves known, Jack's grin grew even more.

 _'Ahhh, Tortuga. How I've missed your sleazy and somewhat illegal ways. Tonight, you shall be graced by the presence of three healthy, yo...'_

His thoughts were cut off by a groan beside him. He looked to his right where a grinning James and a slightly battered looking Will stood next to him.

 _'Right, make that the presence of **two** healthy you..' _

Again he paused in his thoughts as he looked back at James, who appeared to be telling of his past travels to Tortuga to a tired Will, who weakly nodded in answer to James' loud laughs. On the way to Tortuga, after Will's 'training' with James, the immortal and Jack began talking and James had revealed that he was several decades older than Jack, but simply had stopped aging around his thirties.

 _'Okay then, make that **one** healthy young man, coming to enjoy the nightlife of the free city_.'

Having reached the harbor of Tortuga, Jack skilfully docked the _Interceptor_ and left the ship, James and Will right on his heels. Before descending into the sea of people who were in various stages of drunkenness and none who were in any stages of soberness, Jack turned to his friends, still wearing a wide grin.

"Tell me gentlemen, are you ready to brave the streets of Tortuga, surrounded by scallywags and the mangiest of sorry slobs that call themselves pirates, to search for those precious few that may prove able to be of possible aid and purpose towards our little quest, eh?"

Will looked more than a little lost, trying to take in the sights of Tortuga without being too obvious about it, but when he looked at Jack, the pirate could see determination underneath the blacksmith's confusion, as the young man gave a firm nod.

"Yes, I am."

Jack turned to look at James, who simply had a similar grin to Jack on his face.

"Aye, I am as well."

"Wonderful!" Jack said loudly, throwing his arms up, and turning sharply on his heel, making his hair and coat billow out dramatically behind him.

"Do try to keep up gentlemen, it would be a great inconvenience to try and find you after you get lost!"

* * *

Jack walked along one of the streets of Tortuga, easily stealing a very expensive looking walking stick from a very drunk looking gentleman. He continued to educate young Will in the great and noble history of his favorite port, with added comments from James, who he knew to know almost as much as he did about Tortuga from the stories they had shared in the dungeons of Port Royal so many nights ago.

"It is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep the sweet and proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?" Jack told an attentive Will as they passed several buxom wenches and bar fights.

"What do you think?" Jack asked his companions, gesturing with his arm to encompass the entirety of hedonism preformed in sight, like a showman presenting his prize horse.

Jack looked at Will who quickly turned away from a man who was putting up quite the commendable effort to drown in his beer. Or shower in it, it was hard to tell. Looking somewhat uncomfortable, Will answered wryly, "It'll linger."

James laughed loudly at that.

"Aye bub, it's exactly as I remember!"

"I'll tell you mate, if every town was like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted.", Jack said wisely.

"Aye, I'll drink to that.", James nodded sagely.

"Well it appears you're not the only one here to do so." Will replied sourly as he looked around.

Jack shared a grin with James before continuing their walk. Suddenly he saw a beautiful redhead with heavy make up in a revealing dress walk across the street a short distance away. He knew her, and what was under that dress, very well, and while he could not remember all the nights they had spent together, the mornings were rather memorable.

"Scarlett!" he called out loud enough for her to hear, walking towards her with his arms spread widely and Will and James on his heels.

 _'That's right gentlemen, look on in envy as the great **Captain** Jack Sparrow intimately reacquaints himself with the most beau-'_

His inner monologue was abruptly and violently cut off by a slap to the face, courtesy of Scarlett, which whipped his head around hard enough that he ended up looking at a somewhat concerned Will and a wildly grinning James.

"Not sure I deserved that."

"I'm sure you didn't bub." James said laughing.

Shrugging it off, Jack straightened himself and tried to continue their walk only to see a busty blond stalking towards him.

 _'Ha! It would seem as if Lady Luck has seen fit to smile upon fortune tonight.'_

He spread his arms invitingly and called out to the beautiful blond now only a few steps away from him.

"Giselle!" he said as he leaned forward full of anticipation.

"Who is she?" Giselle asked with a cold smile, nodding in the direction Scarlett had run off.

Jack only had enough time to utter a startled "What?", before he ended up looking at a now less concerned Will and a wildly laughing James, thanks to another slap to the face, this time courtesy of Giselle. Jack shrugged at his friends.

"I may have deserved that."

James simply laughed even harder.

* * *

As Jack sat at the table of an inn which name he didn't bother to remember, both his pride and his cheek still stinging, he looked at the man in front of him. He had asked James and Will to have a private conversation with him and James had merely shrugged and dragged Will off to get some drinks.

The man was slightly overweight, with greying hair and sideburns. He still smelled strongly like one of those he had shared his most recent sleeping quarters with, and beer dribbled down his chin when he chugged from his tankard. However, when the dirty, smelly man slammed down his drink on the table and looked at Jack, he knew he had the right guy.

Eagle eyes peered at him from under heavy eyebrows, showing a man experienced in dealing with the darker parts of the world. No, Joshamee Gibbs was not a man one should underestimate, unless you wanted a bullet in the back. Gibbs had seen and survived more than pirates who had lived twice as long and boasted thrice as much.

It had taken a surprisingly less amount of effort than Jack had expected to track Gibbs down, though he knew Will and James were confused as to why they were looking for their contact amongst the barns of the inns. James had snorted derisively when they came upon the sleeping form of Gibbs, though that may have been due to the smell assaulting the feral man's sensitive nose, and Will had taken great pleasure in giving the sleeping man an impromptu bath by throwing a bucket of water in his face. Though all men present agreed that it had been somewhat necessary. The grizzled pirate looked at Jack intently.

"Now, what's the nature of this venture your'n?"

Jack swallowed, carefully thinking about how he was going to explain his plan to Gibbs.

"I'm going after the _Black Pearl._ "

Okay, maybe not so carefully after all. Gibbs choked on his drink and pounded his chest a couple of times before taking a gasp of air. He turned wide eyes on Jack. Jack quickly continued.

"I know where it's going to be and I'm gonna take it."

It hadn't taken that long for Jack to figure out Barbossa's next move. He meets a lady who for some reason is wearing a cursed piece of Aztec gold around her throat and that very night the same lady is kidnapped by the crew of the _Pearl_ who just so happen to be under the curse of that very Aztec gold. Whatever plans Barbossa had, the medallion had to be returned to its coffin. And he knew where it was. Gibbs though did not look convinced. He shook his head.

"Jack, it's a fool's errand. You know better than me the tales of the _Black Pearl_."

Jack immediately replied, trying to persuade Gibbs with all he had.

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up to. All I need is a crew."

He could see that Gibbs was getting interested, but still wasn't convinced.

"What I hear tell of Captain Barbossa he is not a man to suffer fools _nor_ strike a bargain with one."

Laying on his charm, Jack grinned and leaned forward.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a fool then."

"Prove me wrong." Gibbs challenged him.

"What makes you think Barbossa will give up his ship to you?"

Jack hid a smile. Gibbs had given him all he needed to convince the man.

"Let's just say, it's a matter of leverage."

He was so focused on his fellow pirate, he did not see Will hearing his words, or James tensing up and getting a dark look on his face. Jack gestured with his head towards his travel companions. Gibbs simply looked at him confused. Irritated, Jack angrily repeated the gesture several times until Gibbs finally followed his gaze. He looked at James who was apparently trying to convince a panicked looking Will to participate in a drinking contest. Gibbs turned towards Jack, a puzzled expression on his face.

"The kid?"

Jack nodded. Time to reel Gibbs in.

"That is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner."

He immediately saw comprehension bloom on Gibbs face. Deciding to lay it on a little bit thicker he added, "His _only_ child, savvy?"

Gibbs turned back to look at Will.

"Is he now?"

Suddenly Gibbs growing sly grin turned into a look of confusion. Somewhat worried his friends had undone all his hard work Jack followed Gibbs' gaze, only to barely hold back a sigh. Somehow, James had gotten into a fight with another contestant of the drinking contest and their conflict had spread across the inn.

A lively tune was playing and James' voice could be heard above the music and the din of the fighting, calling out instructions to Will, who looked very happy to be on the giving side of the punches for once. Gibbs turned back to Jack, who had a resigned look on his face.

"And, err... The man?"

Jack grinned. This could be used to his advantage.

"Well, it seemed that should a wise man go face a cursed and immortal adversary, he should have the proper precautions set in place. And what better precaution is there from immortals, than bringing your own?"

Gibbs eyes became wide.

"Immortal?"

Jack nodded.

"James Howlett. Does not die, does not drown, doesn't even bloody age."

The last part was said rather sullenly to himself. Gibbs looked disbelievingly at him for a few seconds, before grinning wildly.

"Leverage, says you. I think I feel a change in the wind, says I."

 _'Success!'_ James shouted in his head, though he restrained himself from showing anything more than a small smile.

Gibbs continued, apparently getting fired up at the idea of the adventure ahead of them.

"I'll find us a crew. There's bound to be _some_ sailors on this rock as crazy as you."

Jack grabbed his drink, a sense of accomplishment filling him.

"One can only hope."

He lifted his tankard.

"Take what you can!"

"Give nothin' back!"

* * *

He and Gibbs had shared a few drinks and stories before Gibbs went off to gather their crew for inspection tomorrow, so it was almost morning when Jack went up to the rooms he had rented for him and his friends for the night. Night being a subjective term in Tortuga, since many seemed to be of the opinion that the morning was a time to sleep off your stupor, midday was to earn back the money you had thrown away the night before, the afternoon was to eat, since drinking on an empty stomach was a stupid idea, and the night was for celebrating that the day was over and that you finally had the time to celebrate.

Which meant that when Jack went up to the room, the inn itself was still full off patrons either looking to drown their sorrow or their neighbor in their drink, depending on wether or not a brawl was in progress. Jack opened the door to their rooms, thankful for the thick walls. As he walked in, he looked over to the bed under the window. Will was with his back to the wall, lying in his overclothes and curled around his sword, tightly clutching it to his chest as if it were a stuffed animal. A black eye was evidence to the nightly activities Will had found himself dragged into. Jack chuckled at the sight.

 _'James is going to get an earful in the morning._ '

Jack searchingly looked around the rest of the room.

 _'Speaking of James, wher-'_

Before he could finish his thought, he was yanked of his feet and thrown out of the room into the wall of the hallway. Jack was dazed by the impact and before he could react he felt himself getting hauled to his feet again and held up against the wall. As he lifted his head to look at his attacker Jack was shocked to find himself looking at the furious face of James.

"Leverage!?" the feral man roared.

Jack laughed uncomfortably.

"Look mate, this is all a misunderst-"

"What!?" James roared.

He popped out his claws and drew back his arm. With another roar, James slammed his arm towards Jack's face, who let out an 'eep!' and closed his eyes. Hearing something heavy ram into the mortar next to his head, but feeling no pain, Jack cautiously opened a single eye. James was breathing heavily, his arm extended and his fist under Jacks's chin. At the last moment James had retracted his middle claw back into his arm, avoiding skewering Jack's throat, but pinning it to the wall between the two outer claws.

"I want answers Jack." James growled.

"Ah, well, you see, there is this man, who-"

"REAL answers Jack!" James roared, cutting him off.

He slowly allowed his middle claw to slide out between his knuckles, the sharp point steadily drawing closer to Jack's bobbing Adam's apple. Caught between morbid curiosity and outright panic, Jack relented.

"Allright allright allright! I'll tell you everything you want to know."

James looked at him intently, not moving a muscle.

"You swear?"

"I solemnly swear on the grave of my dog, I'll tell you everything."

James looked confused for a few seconds.

"You never had a dog."

"I know." Jack answered with a grin, hoping to relieve some of the tension.

James looked at him for a few seconds in sheer disbelief before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. He withdrew his claws, allowing Jack to fall to the floor. The pirate stood up again and dusted himself off while trying to control his thoughts. Honesty wasn't his strong suit and he was enormously nervous. He looked at James, who had crossed his arms over his chest and was giving him a hard look. Jack sighed and began to talk.

"The last time I was honest with someone was with my first mate. I told him the location of a treasure hoard of which there were only rumours and legends. It ended up with me marooned on a deserted island and him sailing away on my ship." He finished bitterly.

He looked at James, whose expression had started to look less angry.

"So what's your trust issues got to do with anything?"

Jack paused with answering the question, unsure of what to say, before sighing and telling the truth. He had promised after all.

"My first mate's name is Barbossa. Hector Barbossa."

James eyes widened.

 _"_ The _Pearl_. It used to be yours."

"It still is mate, I am simply not currently in possession of it." Jack defended himself.

James eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Then why use Will? What's so important about his dad?"

Jack frowned and took out his pistol. He saw James tense and snorted.

"Relax mate, you and I both know this would do me no good against you."

He looked at the single shot pistol he had been carrying for close to a decade now. He looked back up at James.

"Same as it won't do me any good against Barbossa."

For a moment he saw a flicker of hope in James' eyes.

"You mean, he's like me?"

Jack shook his head.

"No, he is cursed to undeath by Aztec gold from the hoard I led him to. The curse can only be lifted by returning all of the gold pieces and a blood sacrifice from those who took it."

At this he paused, looking at the door where Will was still sleeping somewhat soundly.

"Bootstrap died during the mutiny on the _Pearl_ trying to defend me before he could make his sacrifice."

James gained a look of understanding.

"A blood sacrifice..."

Jack turned back to James, a serious expression on his face.

"I need Will's blood, _Bootstrap's_ blood to lift the curse on Barbossa so I can finally put this bullet in his heart. I will _finally_ have my revenge and I will _finally_ be able to take my ship and my life back. Even young Will shall have his vengeance, since it was the crew of the _Pearl_ , who, on Barbossa's orders, sent his dear old father to Davy Jones' locker. Now, will you help me settle the score with the most evil captain to sail these waters, or will you take away my only means to do so?"

Though he looked stern, Jack was rather nervous. Honestly, if James wanted to stop him, he very well could and they both knew it. There was a long silence between the two men, with James scrutinizing Jack until he began to shift uncomfortably on his feet. Suddenly James shook his head with a rueful chuckle.

"Sure, someone needs to make sure the lad has enough blood left in his body to be of any use to his girl by the end of this right?"

Jack let out a relieved sigh. He smiled at James.

"Thank you."

James shrugged and walked past him into the room.

"Sure thing bub."

Jack followed him into the room and made his way towards the second bed, only to be picked up by the back of his coat and carried back to the door.

"Oh no no no, bub, I said I would help, but you've got a long way of making it up to me and Will."

"Wait, what?"

"You may sleep on the couch tonight."

"... We don't _have_ a couch James."

"Really? Well in that case, for your sake, I hope the floor is comfy."

"... I hate you."

* * *

 **AN:** Fun fact: Barbossa's first name is not mentioned until the third movie, when, in Davy Jones' Locker, Jack Sparrow says to him: "Hector! It's been to long!" It was mainly Depp who chose the name Hector. Barbossa's middle name is Mijeux.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** We'll, I am back home with a steady internet connection again, so perhaps my updating schedule will be a bit more regular. University does start up again next week though, so I'm not sure.

This chapter fought me for a long time, mainly because I just could not find a way to end it properly, until I just decided to cut it here, and switch to another POV in another chapter.

I have also decided on bringing in more characters from the Marvel Universe besides just Sabretooth, thought wether or not they will make an appearace in this story or in one of the sequels remains to be seen.

In this chapter the foundations for some of the later changes compared to the movie are being made. Since I don't want to spoil anything, I'll give my thoughts on them in an AN at the end of the chapter.

Without further ado, here is chapter 8, somewhat shorter than the previous chapter, but still rounding off above the 3k mark. It will be told from the POV from James.

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – James**

James Howlett was deep in thought as he walked towards the docks of Tortuga the following morning. He had slept neither well nor long, having lain awake long after he had had his talk with Jack. Though the pirate's constant grumbling about their sleeping arrangements may have had something do with it. He looked to his right where Will was holding a damp cloth to his right eye and was giving him a dark look with his undamaged left one. He gave an apologizing grin before hurriedly looking ahead again.

Will had been quite upset about getting dragged into a fight not of his own making, and had insisted on training that morning, this time _with_ a sword. James had been in quite a hurry to find a new shirt after Will was done making his point. He turned a thoughtful look to a couple of feet in front of them, where Gibbs was leading them towards their crew and was getting badgered by Jack. It seemed the wily captain had a great time trying to make the grizzled pirate's head spin.

He was unsure of what to do with the information Jack had given him and had spent the better part of the night and this morning debating how much, if anything, he should share with Will. Jack's plan hinged on Will giving a blood sacrifice when returning the piece of Aztec gold, in order for Jack to be able to kill Barbossa. But that was immensely dangerous for Will, especially if Barbossa knew of Will's parentage. Also, he had promised his aid to Will, not Jack, and Will's goal was to save young Ms. Swann, and, even if he couldn't admit it yet, steal her heart.

But then what? Even if James didn't tell Will anything and they managed to retrieve Ms. Swann, Barbossa would hunt them down to reclaim both her and the gold piece. They couldn't even buy Barbossa off by simply giving him the cursed medallion, since without the proper blood sacrifice, it was of no use to him. The best they could hope for was that Barbossa tried the ritual, only to discover he didn't have the right blood, meaning that he didn't need the girl to become mortal again. However this also meant Elizabeth would be of no further use to him, which dramatically lowered her chances of survival.

James saw no other way. For Will to live a full and happy life, and for Jack to reclaim his, Barbossa needed to die. Having come to a decision he called out to Jack and Gibbs.

"Oi! You keep going towards the docks, me and Will are gonna have a talk. We'll catch up and meet you there."

Jack shot him an uneasy look, but he simply nodded reassuringly. Jack looked unconvinced, but continued walking again, taking a confused Gibbs with him. He turned towards Will, who gave him a curious look with his one eye, before quickly grabbing his arm and roughly dragging him into a side street. Will appeared to be startled and dropped the cloth, unconsciously placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Look, if this is about this morning, I offer my apologies, I was out of line-" the young man said quickly.

"What? No, no, 's all right bub, I had it coming. 'Sides, no worries, I'm already right as rain." James quickly assured him.

"Yes, I can see that." Will said sourly, gingerly touching his black eye, looking a James' unmarred body with envy.

He relaxed his stance though, so James continued.

"Last night, Jack told me a couple of things, which I think you should know as well."

Seeing he had Will's attention, he continued.

"Your lass was kidnapped by Barbossa and his crew because she was in possession of a very important artifact. A medallion of cursed Aztec gold."

For a second he saw something like recognition flash across Will's face, but James dismissed it.

"The gold curses those who took it with undeath, which means that they cannot die, but are not among the living. The only way to lift the curse is to return the gold with a blood sacrifice."

He saw that Will immediately understood the implications if his horrified look was anything to go by.

"Barbossa thinks he needs Elizabeth's blood!"

James nodded gravely.

"Aye, bub, but the worst part is that her blood won't do him any good. She never took the gold from its resting place, so her blood can't lift the curse."

Will looked worried, probably envisioning Barbossa's rage after he found out he had been tricked.

"But if he doesn't need Elizabeth blood, then whose?"

James nodded to himself. Apparently the young blacksmith had come to the same conclusions as him, regarding Elizabeth chances of survival and their chances of a happy life together should Barbossa remain alive. Well, as alive as someone under the curse of undeath could be. James sighed and looked at Will.

"Yours."

There was a moment of silence as Will tried to comprehend what James just told him.

"What? Mine? Why would he need mine..."

James kept silent as Will's voice trailed off, his face scrunched up in deep thought. He could almost _see_ Will reach the right conclusion by the frown which appeared on the blacksmith's face. The young man looked up at him, a look of resignation on his face.

"My father." Will spat bitterly.

It seemed the blacksmith still hadn't truly accepted his father's chosen profession. James put a firm hand on Will's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Your father was among those who took the gold, but he died before he could return the piece with his sacrifice. He died standing up for Jack against Barbossa."

At this Will looked up surprised.

James explained; "Barbossa used to sail under Jack, but betrayed him and left him to die after leading a mutiny. Your father was the only one who stepped up to Jack's defense."

He saw the young man come closer to accepting his father as Will's expression softened.

"So that's what Jack meant when he said my father was a good man."

James nodded.

"Aye, no matter what your father did in life, his death showed him for what he was; a good man, a man you should be proud to call father."

Will looked up at him, before giving a firm nod. Suddenly Will's expression darkened and James got a glimpse of the uglier side of the blacksmith. The blacksmith who trained five a hours a day, until it could be said he was the greatest swordsman of his age. The swordsman who had freed convicted criminals and stolen not one, but two ships and who intended to face horrors that would make a lesser man weep, for the sake of love. James became uncomfortable thinking how far Will was willing to go for the sake of vengeance.

"So, Barbossa is the one who killed my father?"

James nodded.

"Aye, that he is."

"And right now, he cannot be killed?"

"Aye."

"And Jack _wants_ to kill him, but _can't_ until the curse is lifted?"

"Aye."

"And in order to lift the curse, he needs my blood and my father's medallion?"

"Aye."

"All right then."

"Ay... Wait what?"

Will looked intently at James.

"Barbossa wants to become mortal again. Both Jack and I want him dead, which means we want him mortal as well. So, for as long as Barbossa is _not_ mortal, the three of us have a common goal. I intend to help Jack the best I can."

James was silent for a few seconds, simply looking at Will's determined expression, before letting out a chuckle.

" _Four_ of us, bub."

Seeing Will looking at him quizzically, James clarified himself, letting out a wide grin.

"I _did_ promise you my aid, didn't I?"

* * *

James and Will continued walking towards the docks of Tortuga, both men keeping silent. James looked at Will from the corner of his eye. The young man had not said a single word since their talk, appearing to be completely focused on what laid ahead of them. As James looked ahead of him again, he saw that they had reached the docks, where Gibbs stood yelling at a group of pirates, trying to get them to form a single line.

Both men joined Jack, who stood off to the side, simply watching Gibbs do his work. As they reached their pirate friend, Jack turned to them, looking serious and obviously trying to hide his worries. He looked at Will who stared right back at the pirate captain, jaw set and eyes flashing in determination.

"I assume then, you have reached a decision on how you wish to proceed our venture?"

Will nodded.

"Both you and I need the man responsible for my father's death mortal again so one of us can kill him. You have my aid as long as I have yours."

Jack gave a wide grin at that.

"Wonderful! Any questions before we meet our new crew?"

James spoke up.

"Just the one, really."

Jack turned to him.

"Yes, Mr. Howlett?"

"Where'd you get the banana?"

Before Jack could recover from his dumbfounded expression, Gibbs joined them, a look of pride on his face.

"Well then, shall we begin?"

* * *

"Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt, and crazy to boot." Gibbs told them as they walked along the line of pirates.

James looked at all of them closely and barely held back a snort. Each and every one of them appeared scruffy, poor and like they had just been dragged out one of the neighbouring inns. Apparently Will shared his doubts, as he said to Jack scornfully; "So _this_ is your able-bodied crew."

"Aye bub, this ain't the greatest of seafaring men I have seen." James agreed.

Jack ignored them and continued walking along the line, pausing to stop at an elderly man with a parrot as beautiful as he was ugly on his shoulder. Narrowing his eyes, Jack called out to the man.

"You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir." Gibbs quickly provided.

Giving a sharp nod of acknowledgement, Jack continued.

"Mr. Cotton, do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?"

There was a moment of silence after the question was asked. Will turned to Jack, a worried look on his face.

"Well, that's a rather unusual question isn't it?"

James simply shrugged and scratched his cheek.

"Not as unusual as you may think, bub." James nonchalantly replied, making Will gulp.

Meanwhile Jack was getting impatient at Cotton's silence.

"Mr. Cotton. Answer man!"

Instead of obeying the captain's orders, Cotton just looked at Gibbs, who quickly intervened.

"He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out."

As if to prove Gibbs' point, Cotton opened his mouth, showing the stump that used to be his tongue. Both Will and Jack drew back sharply. James winced.

"Damn, I can still remember how painful it was when it happened to me."

At this another silence fell, with Gibbs, Jack and Will giving him odd looks.

"My God man, what happened?" Gibbs asked him, looking horrified.

James simply shrugged.

"Angry girlfriend."

Jack and Gibbs both gained looks of understanding, letting out an "Ahhh." Will looked decidedly white. Jack turned back to Cotton, who looked at them as if they were crazy.

 _'Is he really that far off though?'_ James asked himself, thinking about what they were planning to do.

 _'Then again, does it really matter wether we are or not?'_

James focused back on the conversation.

"So how does he hold a conversation then, or follow orders?" Jack asked of Gibbs, obviously thinking a mute on his ship was a waste of space.

"He trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how." Gibbs replied thoughtfully.

James and Will shared a look between themselves at that, before looking at the parrot, who appeared to be observing them with far more intelligence any animal had any right to possess. Jack said nothing, simple continuing a step down the line before turning towards the parrot.

"Mr. Cottons parrot. Same question."

Before James could scoff at the ridiculousness of talking to a bird, the parrot answered.

 _"Errr, Wind in your sails, wind in your sails!"_

At this, all three men looked at Gibbs.

"Mostly, we figure that means 'yes'."

"Of course it does." Jack replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He turned to Will.

"Satisfied?"

"Well, you've proved them mad." came the heated reply.

James let out a loud laugh at that. Suddenly a female voice called out.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

All three men looked towards the end of the line, where a slender person stood with a wide brimmed hat pulled low over their face. Jack approached the figure warily gingerly reaching out toward the hat. James noticed both Will and Gibbs were holding their breath, like him preparing themselves for whatever hideousness was hidden underneath the hat. All three men were immensely surprised when Jack pulled the hat away, revealing a dark skinned beauty. Jack smiled wildly.

"Annamarie!"

' _Huh, Deja vu.'_ James thought, recalling the events of last night on their search for Gibbs.

Sure enough, the beautiful face of Annamarie gained a look of fury and slapped Jack in the face. Hard. Facing James and Will, Jack had a resigned look on his face, one of his cheeks distinctly redder than the other.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" Will asked smugly, making James muffle a snort.

If even possible, Jack looked even more dejected.

"No, I deserved that."

James winced.

"Shall I be getting the pliers then?" Gibbs asked worriedly, shooting a glance at Cotton and James.

Jack looked panicked.

"No, no, that shall be quite unnecessary, won't it, my dear Annamarie?" Jack asked with all the charm he could muster, turning back to the exotic beauty. Only to receive another slap to the face.

"You. Stole. My. Boat!" Annamarie spat at him.

James shook his head, trying (and failing utterly) to hide a grin.

"Tsk, tsk, Jack, stealing from pretty ladies now, are we?" he asked reproachfully.

Annamarie blushed at that, while Jack simply looked put out.

"Borrowed!" he defended himself, before turning back to Annamarie.

"Borrowed without permission. But with _every_ intention of bringing it back."

Annamarie immediately replied, lifting a hand threateningly, making Jack shrink back.

"But you _didn't_!"

James quickly intervened.

"He'll get you another one."

Jack twisted to look at him, a horrified look on his face.

"Another one?"

Gibbs spoke up.

"A better one!"

Now Jack turned to Gibbs, looking more panicked by the second.

"A better one!?"

This time Will spoke up.

"That one!"

At this, Jack simply looked confused.

"What one?"

Will simply pointed towards the _Interceptor_ floating serenely in the harbor, clearly visible from where they were standing on the docks.

"THAT ONE?!" Jack shouted, looking as really panicked now.

Will, James and Gibbs simply gave him meaningful looks. With a pained smile, the captain turned towards Annamarie, who had been watching them closely.

"Aye, that one. What say you?!"

The last part was shouted at the entire line of pirates, who all kept quiet, obviously waiting on Annamarie to make the call. The feisty femme gave Jack a searching look, one which reminded James of the ones he had on occasion given the wily pirate.

While many thought the goal of the stare was to look through someone's eyes into their souls and then judge their personality, the actual trick had nothing to do with the eyes. The goal was to keep the stare up until the other party would feel uncomfortable and then pay close attention to their body language.

Annamarie clearly knew to use this trick well, because she kept staring at Jack until he began to shift uncomfortably on his feet before she let out a loud "Aye!"

The call was quickly taken up by the other pirates, who made a dash for the ship, Annamarie close on their heels, leaving James with exasperated Will, a worried Gibbs and a sullen Jack. Gibbs made his way towards Jack.

"No, no , no! It's frightful bad luck to have a woman aboard, sir, frightful bad luck."

James scoffed at that.

"Easy there bub, I've met enough seafaring women who were more than a match for the hardiest sailor to know there's no truth to that."

Gibbs didn't look convinced, while Jack appeared preoccupied with something in the sky. He distractedly agreed to James' statement.

"Listen to Mr. Howlett, Mr. Gibbs. It would be even more bad luck to _not_ bring her along."

Giving a final troubled look at the sky, Jack turned around mand made his way towards the ship walking past Will and Gibbs, who were now intently staring at the small patch of the sky. James chuckled at that and started walking alongside Jack. Jack looked at him from the corner of his eyes.

"So, I see you've seen fit to tell our ymoung friend of his role in bringing down Barbossa then?" he asked softly of James in a carefully neutral tone of voice.m James spared a glance at his friend before looking ahead again.

"Aye, I did. The lad deserved to know, what with everyone after his blood and what not."

Jack simply hummed in response.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

James decided to change the subject, having a feeling he and Jack would never quite agree on how to hmandle these kind of things.

"So, we _had_ a ship, now we _have_ a crew, all that's left what we need is a heading."

At this Jack grinned and fished a battered looking compass from his belt. Dangling it from the short strap it was attached to in front of him, Jack looked at James with a smug grin.

"What is it, you desire _most_ in this world?"

* * *

 **AN:** Well, obviously, the greatest change here is that Will knows how his father was sent to Davy Jones' Locker. It came to me that it was never told to him who did it. He does know his father sailed under Jack and send him the medallion, so he could have very well figured it out on his own, but in the movies we see him working alongside Barbossa and Ragetti and Pintel wihout too much complaint. Expect a major change in that.

 **Fun Fact:** Annamarie is played by the fantastic Zoe Saldana, who was recently on screen in Gardians of the Galaxy as Gamorra. For those who have trouble remembering all the names, she was the green woman. During takes for this scene, she had to actually slap Depp in the face. Repeatedly. Meaning that at the end of the day, Depp really did walk around with a single cheeck searing red.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Phew. At six pages long, this chapter is the longest yet and that during the start up week of university AND me finally landing a job. Which I have to go to in a couple of minutes, but before I leave, I wanted to give you this. In this chapter, a Marvel character will be revealed to have sneaked into the story. I will talk more about that in the post-chapter AN, but this will be the only additional Marvel character to be brought into this story. Any other characters will have to wait for the sequels.

Without further ado, at well over 4.5k words, chapter 9!

 **AN 2:** Updated 1 February 2016

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Will**

Will swept the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, squinting against the surprisingly harsh Caribbean sun. It had been two days since they left the port of Tortuga with their new crew, and Will had begun helping them with the multitude of tasks involved with making a ship go the direction you wanted it to go.

This was somewhat more complicated than it usually was, since apparently only Jack knew where it was that they were going, having not taken his eyes from his broken compass since they had begun sailing for Isla de Muerta.

Giving a final tug on the rigging he had just secured, Will started looking for Gibbs. While James probably had the most experience with sailing, given that the man was by several decades the oldest person on the ship, many of the first mate's tasks were fulfilled by Gibbs, with James sometimes adding helpful advice or giving some related orders.

Speaking of the immortal man, Will could not see him anywhere as he walked towards the helm of the ship. Deciding to put it out of his mind for the moment, he quickly ascended the short stairs towards the upper deck, gave a quick nod at Cotton who was at the wheel, and joined Jack, who was still looking at the compass with a look of utmost concentration.

"Hey Jack, have you seen…"

"Sush!" Jack hissed at him, shooing him away distractedly with one arm.

Taken somewhat aback by the sudden dismissal, Will simply looked at the pirate captain, before trying again.

"Have you seen.."

"SSSSSussssh!" came the agitated reply, making Jack sound like a toddler busy with examining a new toy, figuring out how to best drool all over it and who should not be interrupted in it's crucial thinking process.

Will never much cared for toddlers.

"JACK!"

Jack jumped a little, turning to look at Will with a startled look on his face.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, lad! What do you want?" the captain asked wearily.

"Have you seen James?" Will asked as calmly as he possibly could, forcing a smile on his face.

Jack simply shrugged his shoulders.

"No, haven't since yesterday, when we left port."

There was a short silence as Will stared at his captain.

"Jack. We left port the day _before_ yesterday."

Jack didn't appear surprised or worried at all, which in turn worried Will _a lot_.

"Have we? Huh. I shouldn't have taken up Gibbs on his offer of free rum then, I suppose." the pirate murmured to himself.

Will rolled his eyes, and decided that he had had enough Jack-related absurdity for now.

"Have you at least seen Gibbs?"

At this Jack simply pointed at the bow of the ship, where Gibbs could be seen barking out orders at the motley crew of the _Interceptor_.

"Right. Thanks Jack."

Jack simply gave a distracted grunt, his eyes again fixated on the broken compass in his hand. Will almost asked Jack how he knew where he was going when his own compass didn't even know where north was but he caught himself.

 _'No William, stay strong. You really don't want to know.'_

He shook his head and made his way towards Gibbs, dodging the occasional crewmember scurrying past, carrying bundles of ropes, crates or other odds and ends. Gibbs' voice could clearly be heard above the din of activity on the deck of the _Interceptor_.

"Step to, ye mangy bildge rats! There's still more speed to be gained from these sails, and we'll get it from the sweat of yer miserable backs! What are ye still standing about for ye scurvy swabs?!"

Will hid a grin as he listened to the seasoned sailor ordering the crew around. While Gibb's orders were filled with insults both casual and tailor made for a specific crewmember, there was no sting behind the words.

Gibbs fulfilled the tasks of bosun, sail master and first mate, making him responsible for everything above and below decks, the rigging and the sails and casting and heaving anchor. It also meant he was responsible for the crew and the punishment the crew would get. While some bosuns were infamous for their cruel punishments, Gibbs idea of punishment never went further than extra guard or cleanup duties. The occasional truly severe offences were usually resolved with methods involving withholding rum for a certain amount of time.

Gibbs had confined in Will the night they had left port that he didn't like this punishment, since depriving someone from his rum was the most horrible and cruel thing a man could do to another man in his opinion and his stomach couldn't handle it when he watched, much less ordered, such an atrocious thing. Will had kept quiet and simply nodded.

Having reached the overweight man Will called out to him.

"Master Gibbs, the rigging is secure!"

Gibbs looked up and gave a approving nod.

"Well done lad. Can ye go below decks, there be some supply crates there that be better on the upper deck."

Will gave a nod before quickly turning around and making his way to the stairs leading below decks. That was something that he had learned very quickly: there was _never_ nothing to do. While on their way to Tortuga, when not "training" with James, Will had often found himself with a lot of free time on his hands and bored out of his mind. But that was because the navy had already fully prepared the _Interceptor_ before giving chase to and subsequently boarding the _Dauntless_ , leaving Will and his companions with a ship already made ready to sail away. However they had to resupply in Tortuga and had to house the crew, which meant that for a large part they had to start over again in making the _Interceptor_ sail worthy.

Having reached the stairs, Will quickly descended them, finding himself in the cramped space below decks. The smell of wood was mingled with the smell of a lot of sweaty humans put together in a small space and the smell of gunpowder which was stored in several barrels on the deck. The smell, combined with the heat that gathered in such a cramped space, made Will barely pause as he began searching for the crates.

The first day he had had trouble staying below decks more than several minutes before he was forced to flee in order to get some fresh air. Now he could be below decks several hours if necessary though he preferred not to.

Will kept searching for the requested supplies, walking almost the entire length of the ship before stumbling upon them almost by accident. Will looked up at the enormous pile of crates, which almost reached the ceiling before sighing and bending down to start hauling them above decks. A sudden voice stopped him.

"You know Annamarie, there's something that be bothering me for a while now."

Will recognized the voice as belonging to James and he peered around the corner of the pile of crates, where he saw the clawed man with his back turned towards him. Will could also see the person James was addressing. Annamarie was leaning against a high chest, her arms crossed in front of her, levelling a hard stare at James. Neither of them appeared to be aware of Will's presence and for some reason he decided to keep it this way.

He couldn't really explain why, maybe it was out of some chivalrous urge to make sure James didn't do something unsavoury towards Annamarie, though the immortal didn't strike Will as a man who would do such things. It could also be the fact that his body still remembered James "lessons" all too well and he had no desire to draw the wrath of the feral man, whispered a small part of his mind. Will quickly silenced the traitorous voice and hunkered down, intently following the conversation.

"And what is it that be bothering you Mr. Howlett? And why tell me?" Annamarie said snidely.

James didn't appear fazed by the cold tone, calmly continuing.

"The reason I'm telling you this is because it is _you_ that be bothering me."

Will unconsciously tensed his muscles, worried at James' statement. Annamarie visibly tensed up as well, gripping her arms a little tighter.

"And what have I done to bother you? We have only met a couple of days ago and we've barely talked at all on the ship."

James scratched at the sideburn covering his check, talking in a voice that sounded mock-thoughtful.

"It is simply that… it was Gibbs who gathered the crew. Sought out each member, told them a meeting place and time, and then took the time to line 'em all up in a nice single file. And yet… when Jack revealed you he seemed surprised. He even advised against taking you with us, claiming a woman aboard would bring bad luck."

James turned a bit, and while Will couldn't see his face, he had no problem imagining the stern glare the immortal man was giving the exotic beauty.

"So answer me this, how did a woman get invited to join Jack's crew by someone who later is surprised to see her show up, and is against woman onboard in the first place?"

The question was asked civilly, and had it not been for James' naturally growling voice, it might have even sounded innocent. However, Will could clearly feel the tension building up between James and Annamarie. He almost decided to intervene, but James' next statement stilled his movements.

"In order to pull such a thing off, you'd think one would have to... ah, I don't know… _shapeshift_."

' _Shapeshift? That's a rather odd conclusion?'_

Will immediately felt the tension disappear as Annamarie gave a wistful smile.

"Figured it all out did you, James?"

James let out a short laugh.

"Hello Mystique."

Will's mind stopped completely.

 _'Mystique? What? That's impossible!_ '

He had of course heard of the name Mystique. Almost everybody east _and_ west of the Atlantic had. Whenever there was something that people claimed could not be stolen, it was Mystique that stole it. The only reason people even knew it was her was because she left behind calling cards in the form of small porcelain skulls. Her most notable feat however, the theft which secured her name in the annals of history was the stealing of the British Crown Jewels.

Twice.

What threw Will, and many of the investigators, for a loop though was the fact that many of these feats spanned several decades, the earliest of them taking place before Will was even born. Annamarie though didn't look more than a couple of years older than he was.

"Mind telling me what happened to the _real_ Annamarie?" James asked.

Will focused back on the conversation which proved to be far more intriguing than anticipated. Annamarie's face, _'No not Annamarie, Mystique's face.'_ thought Will to himself _,_ gained a sad look.

"I met her several years ago. We bonded. She was a good friend, we had a lot of fun sailing on the _Kingfisher_. We even ended up sharing a lot of stories from our lives, many of mine which I had only ever told to you or Vic before."

Annamarie smiled sadly.

"Most of hers were 'bout Jack."

"What happened to her?" James asked softly.

Annamarie sighed and shook her head.

"We got jumped by another pirate ship. A piece of shrapnel hit her in the head. She was dead before she even knew it."

There was a short silence as Annamarie appeared to be lost in memories and James clearly had no clue as to how to comfort her. Instead he simply asked another question.

"Who was it?"

At this Annamarie looked up, a fire visible in her eyes.

"A ship with black sails." she spat bitterly.

 _'Apparently, I am not the only one with a grudge against Barbossa and his crew.'_ Will thought sadly.

"So that's why you wanted to join the crew, using Annamarie's face and her history with Jack to ensure you were hired. You want revenge."

Annamarie nodded before fixing James with a stare.

"Don't go blabbing this around, James. Some of them may know you cannot die, but how many here know about your claws, or the animal you keep inside of you? You tell on me, I tell on you James, count on that."

Despite the threat James simply looked amused.

"I reckon they'll learn to live with it once they figure out they can't kill me. But what about you I wonder? You heal, yes, but unlike me, _you_ can still die."

Annamarie simply lifted her chin defiantly.

"I'll have you know that I learned how to grow webs and gills. I'll simply jump overboard and swim behind you."

' _Webbs? Gills? What's going on here?´_ a bewildered Will thought to himself.

James and Annamarie stared at each other for a few tense seconds, before James let out a loud laugh, making Annamarie visibly relax.

"All right, you have a deal Mystique."

Annamarie smiled, before, almost shyly, replying; "You know it's Raven, James."

James simply looked at her, with what Will supposed was a smile.

"Well, I'm not looking at Raven, now am I?"

Before Will could ponder the weird statement, Annamarie gave a sigh and a roll of the eyes.

"Fine." she sighed exasperatedly, before her skin started to shift.

Will barely contained a gasp, as suddenly where Annamarie stood mere seconds before, now stood a tall woman, obviously well curved, with blue skin, yellow eyes and flaming red hair. Raven didn't even share the slightest familiarity with Annamarie. James didn't appear to be fazed though, simply chuckling.

"My, it has been a _long_ time since I last saw you like this."

He fell silent for a moment before speaking up with a cheeky tone.

"You know, blue suits you. Brings out yer eyes."

Raven blushed, turning her blue cheeks purple, before lightly punching James in the shoulder, though it only made him laugh.

"Please don't start fancying yourself a smooth talker James, your absolutely horrible at it." Raven laughed and Will suddenly saw that despite her definitely odd colouring, it didn't take away from her beauty, even accenting it.

Raven started walking away from James, smoothly turning back into Annamarie, even as she spoke.

"I best get back up there. Cotton's not bad at the wheel; it's just that I'm better."

"Sure, go ahead, I've got some stuff I need to get down here anyways."

"We'll talk some more later?" Raven offered as she turned back to James.

James smiled softly.

"I'd like that."

Raven, now looking like Annamarie again, smiled at him and then disappeared from sight.

 _'I best be on my way as well. James might find me if I don't hurry up and if I stay any longer Gibbs is going to wonder where I am.'_ Will thought to himself.

He turned and started to walk away before James' voice froze him in his tracks.

"You can come out now Will. We need to talk."

 _'In the famed words of Jack Sparrow: Bugger.´_

It was a very nervous Will that stood before James, who was wearing an impressive scowl.

"You know Will, it's very rude to listen in on other's conversations."

Will started sweating and stammered out a reply.

"I simply wanted to make sure Mys… _Annamarie_ would not be harmed or molested in anyway. Not that you would do such a thing of course!"

James lifted an eyebrow, taking slow steps towards Will, who matched him pace for pace backing away from him.

"It's just that, you know, you and her. Here. Alone. People jump to conclusions you understand."

James' eyebrow rose a little higher while he continued walking towards Will, who was still rapidly backpedalling away from the irate immortal.

"Do they now?"

"Well, yes, _they_ do, as in, _I_ don't. Jump to conclusions, I mean."

Will swallowed as his back hit the wall and James continued to approach him.

"And then I, naturally, saw that you and Annamarie were friends, but then.. uhh.. I… uhhh… got curious?"

The last words were more a question than a statement as Will was now flat against the wall on his toes, standing almost chest to chest with James, who looked decidedly unimpressed with Will's rambling.

"I want you to swear Will, on the blood of your father and your love for Elizabeth, you _never_ reveal what you saw here to _anyone_ without my or Raven's express permission." James said in a low, very serious voice.

Will calmed down a bit and looked James straight in the eye.

"I swear it."

James kept up his stare a little longer before sighing and gave a nod. He backed away from Will, who breathed a sigh in relief. James turned away from him, putting his hands on his hips. Will hesitated for a moment before asking a question that had been burning on the tip of his tongue when Annamarie's true identity was revealed for the first time.

"I thought Mystique was merely a legend. A name passed on like a title from thief to thief."

At this James chuckled.

"No bub, Raven's almost as old as I am. Some years younger maybe."

"So, she is like you?"

At this James turned to face Will, a sad look on his face.

"No. Not really. There is only one person like me and that's Victor, my brother."

James fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"Raven doesn't age like me, and she does heal fast, but she's not immortal. A bullet to the chest we'll both survive, but a cannonball to the chest? That's only me walking away after that."

Will vaguely noted that James said it as if he spoke from experience, but shoved it out of his mind.

"And her skin… changing?"

James grinned.

"Raven can shape shift. Nothing that much bigger or smaller than she is, but other than that it's pretty diverse. She can mimic voices perfectly. She can even shift her limbs to make them appear boneless, making her extremely flexible. All of this comes down to the fact that she can impersonate any living person on earth and break into even the smallest spaces."

Will's eyes widened in understanding.

"That's how she managed to make those impossible thefts."

James started laughing.

"Aye bub. It's very easy to steal something when you're supposed to be around the thing in the first place. Just impersonate a guard, walk a few rounds and take off with, let's say, the Crown Jewels?"

James laughed again.

"So you've known each other for a while then, I suppose?"

Will asked. James' expression turned wistful.

"Aye bub, spent some decades sailing the world together, searching for clues for what makes us so… different."

Will could tell that the memories were bittersweet for James.

"What happened?"

James let out a loud sigh.

"After a while, she just, gave up, I suppose. Decided to take pride in what she is, do whatever it is what she wants to do, because who can stop her. She tried to convince me to do the same, to stop searching for an answer, for a justification for why I don't die and everybody else does. To simply live, not just as a man, but…"

James paused, before unleashing his claws, looking at them with a troubled expression.

"… But as _me._ " he finished softly.

He withdrew his claws and gave a shrug.

"We parted ways, but we were never on bad terms."

Will nodded in understanding and a silence fell between the two men. Suddenly James clapped his hands, making Will jump.

"Well then! Let's get these crates above decks, or Gibbs will have our hides! Or worse, our rum."

He gave a theatrical shudder, before winking at Will and picking up the nearest crate. As he passed Will he started talking in a hushed voice, sending a shiver up Will's spine.

"Oh, and Will. If I _ever_ find out that you _did_ spill Raven's secrets, two of my claws will spear your family jewels to the nearest wall. And trust me, you _really_ don't want to know what I'll do with the remaining claw."

With that James continued walking, leaving a very nervous Will behind.

 _'Double bugger.'_

* * *

Lightning lit up the sky for a few seconds, showing the world to be nothing but rain, wind and waves taller than the shortest mast on the _Interceptor_ , which was hopelessly being tossed around on the ocean. As thunder boomed overhead so loud the crew's ears were ringing, Will struggled back to his feet. A wave had, not for the first time, swept him away from securing some sails.

Spitting out the salty water, Will made his way back to the rigging, trying to fasten it with his cold hands, which were shivering, though he could not tell if it was because of the adrenaline raging through his body, or the ridiculously low temperature.

Finally the wet rope was tied properly and Will gave a nod to James, who just had time to answer in kind, before both were swept of their feet again, this time almost slamming in the balustrade on the other side of the deck. Finally having had enough of being wet, cold and bruised, Will shouted at James over the wind as best he could, even though the man was only standing a foot away from him.

"How are we going to find an island that cannot be found, with a compass that doesn't point north?!"

James laughed and helped Will to his feet.

"Aye, Jack's compass doesn't point _north_!"

James let out a grin, accentuated by a flash of lightning.

"But we're not trying to find _north_ , are we bub?!"

Before Will could answer the cryptic statement he saw the immortal looking grimly at something behind him. Turning around Will felt real fear for the first time he could remember. A monstrously large wave, taller than the _Interceptor_ itself loomed over them, a black shape in the surrounding darkness. Again lightning flashed, etching the huge wave in terrifying detail in Will's mind.

As the wave began to crest, preparing itself to slam down on the helpless _Interceptor_ , Will felt himself get yanked of his feet, his back suddenly slamming into the mast. He just had time to register a triple set of thuds close to his head and then the world went dark. There was no light anymore, not from the lanterns or from the occasional lightning and it was oddly quiet.

There was an overbearing force that simultaneously tugged at him and tried to crush him. It felt like minutes were spent in the dark, suffocating world, even though Will's logical mind knew it could not have been more than a few seconds. There was a dull roar that was growing steadily louder, until it seemed the only thing in existence. The roar suddenly cut off as Will felt a crushing force bear down on him and disappear, as if a giant has smashed his fist into him, only for him to pass straight through it.

As his lungs greedily sucked in air, Will dimly realized the roar and following force had been the _Interceptor_ resurfacing. Looking around, he noticed three bone claws on both sides of his head, sunken deeply into the wood of the mast. Turning his head in order to look in front of him he saw a spluttering James, who with a grunt withdrew his claws from the mast. He turned away from Will with a pained look, dragging himself to the balustrade, and leaned against it with a tired expression.

Will, who was still a little out of it, sluggishly wondered what would make James tired, since the man had infinite stamina. A lightning flash snapped Will back into reality as the light illuminated James back, which had bared the brunt of the wave, shielding Will from harm. James' back was a mess of cuts and bruises, battered by the wave, which had either smashed splinters off the hull of the _Interceptor_ , or was filled with debris of the shoals and sea floor. Will hastily made his way to his friend, relieved at seeing the cuts already closing.

"James! James, are you all right?!"

He still had to shout in order to be heard, despite his hoarse throat, since the storm had not lessened in intensity or volume. The immortal man coughed a few times, before giving Will a dry look.

"You know bub, I can honestly say I've felt better!"

Will let out a shaky laugh, glad that his friend was okay. Crouching next to James with a steadying hand on his shoulder, Will looked him in the eye.

"Thank you."

He wasn't sure if James had heard him, since he had not shouted the words, but if the man's answering grin and wink were anything to go by, he had managed to get the meaning across. Looking around the deck, he saw that while the crew looked worse for wear, many of them sharing James' injuries, it appeared as if they were all accounted for. He even spotted Gibbs, hauling crew members up and putting them back to work, completely ignoring the cut across his forehead which was bleeding quite badly.

Looking at the helm of the ship, he saw Jack standing at the wheel, his hat miraculously still on his head, and his compass still in his hand. The only thing that showed he had not been spared from the monstrous wave were a few tears in his captains coat. What stood out to Will though, was the fact Jack was grinning like a madman. Turning back to James, who was already standing tall again, he pointed at Jack.

"What's got him in such a good mood?!"

James followed Will's outstretched finger, looking at Jack for a few moments before turning back to Will, now sharing a similar grin to the pirate Captain, making Will suddenly feel _very_ nervous.

"We're gaining on them!"

* * *

 **AN:** Tadaaa, Mystique has entered the story! Quite by accident actually. I was thinking of how to introduce some other longlived characters from Marvel, but couldn't find a smooth way to bring them in. Then as I rewatched the movie, again, hoping for inspiration, I noticed the same thing James did about Annamarie going unnoticed by Gibbs, even though he was the one who gathered all the candidates. The rest just followed. Given the fact that mutants aren't known to the world yet, there's no prosecution or bias against them, which means there's no need for Mystique to be against the humans, and thus there's no reason for her to be an enemy of Wolverine. I still wanted some beliefs of Marvel Mystique to shine through though, hence her leaving the search for answers, and instead living her life as she wants to. Since her character is mostly based around the mutant-human conflict which is absent here, I decided to fill in some of the gaps. I will shamelessly admit to leaning heavily on the character of Irene Adler, as made famous by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I hope you liked it, as you can tell, I'm still experimenting with the layout of FF, so any advice or suggestions are very much appreciated.

 **Fun Fact:** Mystique adopted the X-men Rogue when the girl was very young, and raised her for several years before being forced to give her up. Rogue's actual name? Anna Marie.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** First, let me apologize. I'm deeply, deeply sorry for the long wait. This chapter fought me incredebly hard, so incredibly hard in fact that it KO'ed my muse for a month. The biggest obstacle was to get the character of Jack right. It was incredibly difficult, as he kept ending up to dark and vengeful. Also very difficult was trying to write his plans and schemes, given that we don't really know what his original plan was, since it failed. It really left me little to go on in which direction I should take this chapter.

Again I am so sorry for the long wait, but my muse is alive and kicking again, so don't expect such a long wait in the near future. Also I would like to say right now that I will never abandon a story. One of the most annoying things on this site to me are unfinished stories, where there are 30 + chapters and the last update was in 2007. I started highschool in 2007. Should I ever feel like I cannot finish a story, I will either post a chapter with the outline of the rest, or put it up for adoption.

Again, apologies for the long wait, as a peace-offer, this chapter is the longset so far. Enjoy :)

* * *

 **Chapter 10 - Jack**

Jack peered intently at his compass, repeating the same words he had been repeating for over four days now like a mantra in his head.

 _'I want to find Isla de Muerta. I want to find Isla de Muerta. I want to find Isla de Muerta.'_

The needle kept pointing in a single direction, not even wavering in the slightest. They had been following this course since they had left Tortuga, though only he knew it. Well, he and James, since the immortal had probably already figured out what it is his compass leads you to.

He didn't raise his eyes from the navigational instrument, even when he heard shouting from the crew and crashes from some crates which had not been secured properly and had fallen down due to the tide. He didn't even so much as twitch even as the voice of Gibbs roared across the deck. He remained in exactly the same position as he had been for the last six hours, while the crew members were scurrying past him close enough for him to smell the rum on their breath.

 _'That reminds me, buy more rum next time we leave port.'_

However, when a shout came from the crow's nest, his head shot up with such speed it almost dislodged his hat.

"Land ho!"

Indeed, a black shape could be made out on the horizon. Jack let out a sharp grin. Somewhere on that miserable pile of rocks was the means to take his life back. All he needed to do was play his cards right, lead the right person to their right role, and he would be sailing away from here with the deck of the _Pearl_ beneath his feet, and her wheel in his hand. Should his other hand just so happen to be filled with some trinkets of the immense treasure hoard, well, Jack certainly wouldn't be raising a fuss about it.

Quickly snapping an order at Gibbs to gain as much speed as possible and an order at Cotton to go straight ahead, Jack turned back to his compass. While they had discovered the place which could not be found, they still had to get to the entrance of the cave system running throughout the island. The treasure was underground and there was only a single access point. Finding the island was difficult, finding the cave entrance was suicidal. If you weren't _Captain_ Jack Sparrow that is.

The black spot in the distance rapidly grew bigger, until various mountain regions and coastlines could be distinguished. The crew became silent as they entered the haunting mist that hung around the island, though Jack barely noticed it, only speaking up to give Cotton the occasional direction he should follow, or a warning to avoid a particular shallow part which could hopelessly strand them.

Finally they were in the proper inlet, though at points it appeared to be more of a crevice in the towering mountainside. Seeing no use in letting Cotton see even more of his compass he quickly shut it, and kept a weather eye on the walls on either side of his ship, careful not to get any of the sails tangled up or damaged by the sharp rocks. Sure, eventually he would take his rightful place on his beloved _Pearl_ , leaving the _Interceptor_ behind, but in order to actually _get_ to his old ship, he required his current one to remain intact.

They continued like this for what felt hours, though it was only a few minutes, the mist damping all sounds and making the world look like it existed of only swirling grays. Almost all conversation had halted by now, making it possible for Jack to hear Gibbs, Will and James quietly talking to each other in hushed tones. As Jack made his way to them unnoticed, he contemplated his two friends.

A few days after they had left port, Jack hadn't bothered to count, Will had appeared very shaky, keeping out of the way of James while keeping a wary eye on him. This awkwardness between them had vanished after the storm that had hit them, but that was not what had caught Jack's eye, even as occupied with his compass as it had been. It wasn't the wariness that Will had for James that was unusual. It is a healthy man that's weary of James. They tend to live longer. No, it was the wariness that Will had for another crew member that had alerted Jack. Will was weary of Annamarie. As far as he knew, Annamarie and Will hadn't known each other before they met in Tortuga, which made Will's behavior all the stranger. He had broken his vigil the night after the storm to confront the young blacksmith about it, but Will simply deflected his questions.

"It's not my secret to tell Jack. You want to know more, then go ask James or My... Annamarie."

Intrigued by the blacksmiths almost-slip up, Jack had done exactly that. Now, two days later, he still wasn't sure if he was glad that he did.

* * *

 _Jack found his targets in James' quarters. While they were not nearly as big as his and even though James didn't really have an official position on the ship, his quarters were still better than the ones for the crew, which were basically nothing more than a hammock and a small chest for personal belongings. Nobody objected to this though, due to James' friendship with Jack and his seniority over almost, if not all members of the crew. Well, that, and the fact that nobody in his right mind would tell James Howlett where he could and could not sleep._

 _While Jack wasn't surprised to find James in his own quarters, he_ _ **was**_ _surprised by the presence of his other target. Annamarie was sitting on the only chair in the small cabin, her feet on the table. She had a bottle of rum in her hand which had obviously been put to good use, if the low level of liquid still present was anything to go on. James was sitting opposite her on his bunk, divested of coat and tricorn, leaving him only in his boots, pants and a new shirt. This one without a bloody hole in it thankfully. Both of them were roaring in laughter, James' rough voice easily filling the small cabin, and only noticed Jack when he cleared his throat._

 _He secretly enjoined Annamarie's horrified look, and subsequent tumble out of her chair, letting out a high-pitched "eep!". While he and Annamarie never made any binding promises to each other, to find her in another man's cabin while she was on_ _ **his**_ _ship stung his pride more than he would like to admit. After all, he was quite amendable to receiving female company of the physical kind and was surely more approachable and charming than his gruff clawed friend._

 _Did that make him petty? Yes, yes it did. Did he care? Not even in the slightest._

 _Annamarie quickly pulled herself to her knees leaning on the table with her forearms for support._

 _"Oh! Jack! You're here!"_

 _"I should hope so, given that this is, in fact, my ship, savvy?" Jack dryly responded._

 _He turned to James, who wore a resigned expression._

 _"Am I interrupting something?" He asked, keeping his tone falsely polite, though he allowed a silent request for an explanation to blatantly show through the question. James simply sighed._

 _"Jack, it isn't what you think. This is not what it looks like."_

 _"Really? Then, please, by all means, enlighten me on what, exactly, this is?" Jack asked with a sharp grin, eager to hear what kind of excuse a man like James would come up with to explain the presence of his lady friend when caught together red handed. Or, in the immortals case, claw handed._

 _Jack had caught others and had been caught himself in the company of women and the absence of clothing many times and had heard the most ridiculous of petty excuses. Too be fair though, most of them were his._

 _James kept quiet for a while, before turning towards Annamarie. "It's your call."_

 _Annamarie looked horrified. "You want to tell him!?"_

 _"He deserves to know. But, like I said, it's your call."_

 _Annamarie bit her lip, looking indecisively between Jack and James._

 _Jack meanwhile had a million thoughts thundering through his head. This didn't sound good. This didn't sound good at all. Had Annamarie chosen to give herself to James? Maybe they were already married and they were now going to tell him. Maybe she was pregnant. Oh, no, Annamarie was_ _ **pregnant**_ _! Jack was brought out of his internal meltdown by Annamarie calling out to him._

 _"Jack! Jack, are you all right?"_

 _"Huh, what? Oh, yes, yes, I'm fine." Jack managed to squeak out._

 _Annamarie gave him a searching look, but to his relief decided to drop it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then looked Jack straight in the eye._

 _"I'm not Annamarie."_

 _This halted all of Jack's thoughts._

 _"What?" he asked confused._

 _Annamarie sighed and repeated herself. "I'm not Annamarie."_

 _Nope, still made no sense to Jack._

 _"Then if you're not Annamarie, who are you?"_

 _Annamarie gave a wistful smile. "My friends call me Raven, but most know me as Mystique."_

 _Jack stared at her for a few moments, before letting out a giggle. And another one. And another. Soon, Captain Jack Sparrow found himself giggling hysterically for a few minutes before regaining control of himself. He dimly noticed the sad looks on James and Annamarie's faces, but didn't pay attention to it. After regaining his composure, for the most part, Jack spoke._

 _"Yes, of course you are, why not, if you're Mystique, then I'm-" "Jack."_

 _James' gruff voice interrupted him. Jack blinked a bit, before dryly replying._

 _"While accurate, I was actually going for something more humorous, savvy? Like-" "_ _ **Jack!**_ _"_

 _James's hard voice stopped whatever retort Jack had for him. Seeing that Jack would keep quiet, James sighed and continued._

 _"She's like me Jack."_

 _It took a few moments for that to sink in, before he turned to Annamarie. He opened his mouth, but was stopped by a raised hand of Annamarie._

 _"Before you ask, yes I heal fast, no I don't have claws."_

 _Seeing Jack close his mouth and focusing all his attention on her, Annamarie continued. "I can shape shift. I can take on the voice and appearance of any human I have ever met. I met Annamarie about six years ago. We were friends."_

 _The last words were whispered in a tone of sadness and loss and James walked over to her to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Jack could feel a sinking suspicion form in his mind, but he pushed it away, instead giving his attention to the woman in front of him._

 _"Shapeshifting? You'll have to forgive me when I say, I don't think I can believe you on that."_

 _Usually he would have come up with something witty, but his response just came out flat, a result of what he'd just been told. It was hard to accept the fact that the woman in front of him apparently wasn't_ _ **his**_ _Annamarie, but some legendary thief or shapeshifter simply wearing her face._

 _Somehow. He was still trying to wrap his head around the legendary thief part._

 _Annamarie looked at him with pitying eyes, before closing her own. Jack gasped as she changed from Annamarie to a blue skinned woman with fiery red hair. As she opened her eyes, Jack saw that they were a sulfurous yellow._

 _"Hello Jack."_

 _Jack's eyes widened as he heard his own voice greet him. Feeling somewhat lightheaded, Jack staggered towards James' bunk, while his friend assisted him in sitting down. Rubbing a hand over his face and eyes, Jack peeked at the other person in the cabin through his fingers._

 _Nope. Still very much blue._

 _"That's... Interesting"_

 _Suddenly Jack's thoughts furiously started picking up again. The ability to look like anyone, to sound like anyone, to practically_ _ **be**_ _anyone... it would mean that no place was off limits, that there was no door which could not be unlocked._

 _"That's_ _ **very**_ _interesting."_

 _Jack mumbled as his mind started to explore all the possibilities that shapeshifting granted. As his mind was examining all that had been revealed to him in the last five minutes, his mind snagged on something Mystique had said. Rather, on_ _ **how**_ _she said it. He looked back up at the blue woman who was looking at him with a sad and resigned expression. The sinking feeling returned with a vengeance, but Jack ruthlessly put it out of his mind. Such thoughts had never served him any purpose before, they wouldn't be of any use to him now. And_ _ **Captain**_ _Jack Sparrow didn't allow any useless things inside his head!_

 _Firmly ignoring the irony of that statement with dogged determination, Jack looked up at the shapeshifter._

 _"What happened to her? What happened to the real Annamarie?" he asked in an as neutral voice as he could manage, sounding for all the world as if he were asking about the weather. From the sad looks on their faces he already knew the answer._

 _"She died instantaneously by a piece of shrapnel when our ship was jumped." Mystique told him in a mournful voice._

 _Despite expecting something like that, Jack couldn't stop his breath from hitching, feeling oddly hollow, as if there nothing beneath his skin but emptiness._

 _"I... see." He managed to croak out, feeling James sit down heavily next to him and slinging a comforting arm across his shoulders._

 _Jack remained silent for a few seconds._

 _"She would've hated that, you know. If she knew, I mean. Going out without a fight." he softly said, allowing a small melancholy smile to slide along his face._

 _Jack looked back at Mystique._

 _"Why look like her?"_

 _The blue woman looked guilty. "I needed to go on this ship. You're going to kill Barbossa. I want to do the same."_

 _This caught Jack's attention._

 _"Why?"_

 _At this, Mystique gained a look of fury._

 _"Because he was the one who raided us, the one who killed her. For that he deserves to die!" the shapeshifter spat._

 _As Jack looked at the furious woman he gained an odd feeling in his chest. He knew it, though only barely, having encountered in only a handful of times before in life, most of the times not voluntarily; Determination. Barbossa had not only wronged him, but had done the same or worse to so many others, all the while using_ _ **his**_ _ship to do so. He needed to be stopped, once and for all. And Jack had been planning to do just that. He lifted his head from his hands, showing a determined face with schemes and plots and plans in his eyes._

 _"Yes. Yes he does."_

 _Both Mystique and James let out a relieved sigh. James handed Jack an unopened bottle of rum, taking one for himself as well. Holding out the bottle, James proposed a toast._

 _"To Annamarie."_

 _Mystique sniffed once, before picking up her nearly empty bottle, clinking it against James'. "To Annamarie."_

 _Jack uncorked his own bottle, before joining James and Mystique._

 _"Aye." He said softly, before taking a swig._

 _They spent the rest of the night quietly nursing their drinks and sharing stories of Annmarie with each other, some sad but most of them lighthearted and funny. Jack especially had a treasure trove of anecdotes to tell about the exotic beauty, most of them ending with him getting slapped in the face by said beauty._

 _As light began to shine through the portholes, Jack got to his feet and innocently looked around James' cabin, slowly walking towards the door._

 _"Say James."_

 _Said man looked up at his name being called._

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Isn't your cabin a little small for two?"_

 _Ignoring James flaming red cheeks, and Mystique's 'eep!' of embarrassment, Jack nonchalantly continued, having reached the doorway, laying his hand on the handle._

 _"Of course, maybe in later months, we might need to make room for three. Or four. Or six."_

 _He quickly slammed the door shut behind him, just fast enough to hear a suspicously feminine shriek followed by a bottle being smashed against the door. Jack had to bite his lip to keep himself from roaring with laughter; James had been the only one in the cabin who still had a bottle in his hand._

* * *

Jack quickly shook himself out of his memories, having approached the trio of huddled men. He heard Gibbs tell Will and James his 'escape' from the island Barbossa marooned him on. James was listening with a grin, obviously appreciating the story for what it was, just a very awesome story of a daring escape by the incredible _Captain_ Jack Sparrow. Wether any of it was true or not was entirely beside the point in Jack's opinion. Will though looked skeptical at Gibbs who was wearing a satisfied smirk, obviously in awe of the story.

"What did he use for rope?"

This wiped the smirk of Gibbs' face, who looked puzzled. He opened his mouth, but shut it again, looking even more confused. James let out a snort of amusement. Not willing to let his well-earned and even better fabricated reputation be ruined by some wet behind the ears pirate/blacksmith Jack quickly stepped in, using his most serious voice.

"Human hair."

Gibbs looked up so fast it internally made Jack wince, while Will whirled around, almost losing his balance. James though simply turned to look at him with a grin and a raised eyebrow. The immortal had probably heard him approaching. Looking back at Will and Gibbs he saw Gibbs losing his confused look, appearing to be satisfied by the explanation. Will though looked as if he wanted to ask more questions. Nipping both reactions in the bud, Jack continued.

"From my back."

Will looked vaguely ill, whereas Gibbs regained his former look of utter confusion. James barely managed to hold back a snort and locked eyes with Jack, who winked in response before turning to the rest of the crew.

"Let go the anker!" The shout was picked up by the crew, who quickly set to work.

Jack paid it no mind, continuing to walk across the deck. Laying a hand on the balustrade, Jack looked at the cave a little distance away from the ship. Scanning his surroundings Jack was disappointed, but not surprised, to find the _Pearl_ nowhere in sight. Barbossa was an utter bastard, yes, but he was not stupid. The cursed captain knew just like Jack that this was the only entrance to the cave system accessible by open sea. Meaning that any pursuers, however unlikely, would pass through here as well. Leaving your ship unattended at such a spot was simply a very stupid thing to do, and as said before, Barbossa was many things, most of the horrible, but he was not stupid.

Still though, Jack was weary of the fact that his mutinous first mate hadn't posted any guards near the entrance. At least, any guards Jack could detect. Then again, when you're immortal, getting ambushed isn't really that much of a problem. Speaking of immortals, Jack was joined by James at the balustrade, who followed his gaze to the darkened entrance.

"So, we have a plan?" the wild man asked in his gruff voice.

Jack nodded.

"Me and Mr. Turner will enter first in one of the longboats; search the place for Barbossa and his mangy crew of wretched souls and the medallion. Once we know where the medallion is, we take it, have Will make a blood sacrifice and return it to rest of the gold of Cortez. Then we kill Barbossa and sail away on the _Pearl_."

James nodded.

"Simple. I like simple."

Suddenly Jack gained a devious idea, slyly looking over at his friend, who was peering at the cave entrance. Jack's initial plan had been to somehow use James to steal the medallion, hopefully drawing the attention of Barbossa and his crew, while he and Will saved Elizabeth and find the gold of Cortez. Then James, most likely scuffed and scraped, but definitely alive, would bring him the medallion, he would use Will's blood to return the medallion, then take one for himself and gleefully watch as Barbossa realized that the tables were turned on him. However he returned to the thought he had when he first saw the _Pearl_ for the first time in almost a decade. Or more specifically, when he saw her crew again. _'After all, if the ship was here, then naturally the crew must be as well.'_ Well, the reverse was also true. He knew the crew was here, so the _Pearl_ should be around somwhere.

He turned his attention to James.

"How would you like to steal a ship, mate?"

James' grin was all the answer he needed. Turning around he saw Gibbs shouting orders at the crew. He walked over to the man, who quickly joined him.

"Mr. Gibbs, young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore, while Mr. Howlett and some of the men shall search the nearby waters. Prepare the longboats."

At this Gibbs gained a troubled look. "Captain! What if the worst should happen?"

Jack barely paused as he continued walking.

"Keep to the Code."

He paid no attention at Will's narrowed look as the young man overheard the statement.

* * *

Jack tugged on the oars, as he saw another longboat with James at the helm disappear around the corner. Behind him, he could feel Will shift as the blacksmith was lightning a lantern. Steadily rowing the longboat towards the cave, both Jack and Will were soon enveloped in darkness, with only the light of the recently lit lantern to go by. They were mostly quiet as the rowed through the dark cave until he could feel Will suddenly recoil.

"What Code is Gibbs to keep to? If the worst were to happen?" Will asked in a hurried voice.

Looking around Jack saw what had distressed the young man. On a ledge not far from the waterside, a skeleton was laying on the ground, it's hollow sockets looking out at nothing. How the poor character had come to his end was made evident by the cutlass still sticking out of his back. Jack suddenly realized that this must be the first time Will was fully confronted with death. Sure, while Will had broken many laws during their trip, and had shown remarkable determination to take down Barbossa, he had not seen what could happen to them should they fail, and what had already happened to many who had.

"The Pirate's Code. Anyone who _falls_ behind, is _left_ behind."

He could hear Will gulp at that.

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will asked bitterly.

Jack couldn't help but grin at that.

"You know, for someone having such a bleak outlook on pirate, you're well on your way to becoming one."

As expected this riled the young man up, taking his mind of their gloomy surroundings. Before Will could refute the statement, Jack continued.

"Springing, not one, but _two_ criminals from jail. Commandeer a ship from the Royal fleet. Sail with a buccaneer crew from Tortuga."

Here Jack paused as he could feel Will lean over the side of the boat. Turning to the side, he saw the water lighting up, as if it was illuminated from below. Following Will's gaze he saw that it were hundreds of coins, glinting in the light of their lantern. Looking back at Will, who had a fascinated expression on his face he continued.

"And you are completely obsessed with treasure."

Landing the longboat on what with some imagination and a lot of goodwill could be called a shore, Jack looked around, quickly noticing the other longboats. So, it appears his hunch was correct, Barbossa had left the ship and came here in the longboat, along with most of his crew, if the sheer number of docked boats was anything to go on. He was brought out of his observation as Will spoke up.

"I am _not_ obsessed with treasure."

Jack ignored the statement for now, quickly making his way deeper into the cave, until he came upon a ledge which looked out over the central chamber of the cavern. Turning to look at Will, who had followed him, Jack finally answered him.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

Will joined him, confused at first, thought the confusion quickly left him as he saw what Jack was looking at. There, surrounded by the most feared and dangerous pirates to sail the Carribean, stood Elizabeth, luckily unrestrained and apparently in relatively good health, if one ignored to look of sheer terror on her face. Still, Jack could not help but understand what Will saw in her, as Elizabeth, despite her fear, still held her beautiful head high, not willing to surrender to her fear or her captors. Next to her, with a pitch black hat on his head and a firm grip on her arm stood Barbossa himself. As Jack looked at him, he started to wonder how he ever could have thought to trust this man. Barbossa almost oozed a feeling of sheer evil and malice, the white of his eyes a sickly yellow and looking out at the world with unnatural cruelty. Right now Barbossa was delivering a rousing speech to his crew, promising salvation from their curse.

 _'So he is still unaware that he hasn't got the right blood.'_

This could be both good and bad. Good, because that made Elizabeth a valuable bargaining chip and Barbossa would try not to harm her. Bad, because given how he was riling the crew up, with his speech of salvation, Jack feared for Elizabeth's live when they find out that Barbossa could not make true his promises.

' _But the medallion. Where is it?'_

Without the medallion, no matter what plan he could come up with, they would ultimately fail.

' _Maybe I should have brought James with me instead. He could just search them all.'_ Jack wondered.

Focusing back on Barbossa's speech he could hear the dark captain roar.

"Here it is!"

Before Jack could wander what was here, Barbossa placed his boot on the nearby chest and pushed it off, letting it fall to the ground with an ominous bang. Jack tensed as he realized what was in the chest. Barbossa ran his hand along the countless coins, confirming Jack's suspicions.

"The cursed treasure of Cortez himself."

Grabbing a handful of coins from the chest he let them fall back into it, like enormous grains of golden sand falling through his fingers.

"Every single piece that went astray, we have returned."

Jack tensed as he realized that wasn't true. After all, one medallion yet remained. But where?

"Except this one!" Barbossa roared as he pointed at Elizabeth, unknowingly answering Jack's question.

' _Bugger!_ ´ Well, this complicated things. Suddenly he could feel Will start beside him.

"Jack!" the young man whispered desperately.

Jack immediately pulled him back though.

"No! Not yet!"

Neither of the noticed a small monkey seeing the gold that was displaced by their small scuffle. Looking intently at Will, he spoke as convincingly as he could.

"We wait for the opportune moment."

Not waiting for an agreement from the blacksmith, Jack quickly went back the way they came, Will hot on his heels.

"And when is that?" the young man demanded angrily. "When it's of greatest profit to you?" Will spoke accusingly, stopping Jack dead in his tracks.

"Can I ask you something?" Jack said, as he turned towards Will walking towards him and leaning in uncomfortably close.

"Have I ever given you reason, _not_ to trust me?" Not receiving an answer, Jack ploughed on. "Do us a favour. I know it's difficult for you, but please, stay here and try not to do anything… stupid."

Giving a weak grin, Jack quickly turned around and continued on his way. He made his way closer to the cavern, seeing Barbossa roughly push Elizabeth down, and grabbing and old looking knife. The crew's ominous chanting gave little doubt to what Barbossa would be cutting with it.

"Begot by blood. By blood, undone."

As Barbossa lifted the blade, Jack heard something behind him. Turning around he saw Will hefting an oar above his head. Before Jack could do anything, pain exploded in his head and everything went dark.

* * *

 **AN:** Let me know what you thought of the chapter, any feedback is much appreciated!

 **Fun Fact** : The monkey used in the film was so unruly it drove the director, Gore Verbinski, to desperation, since it would never sit still or do what it was told long enough to make good shots. Verbinski had become so fed up with it in fact, he was contemplating just animating the whole monkey but was stopped by Geoffrey Rush, the actor who plays Barbossa. Rush stated that he would simply do the takes over and over again as long as was required, even though, in order to get the monkey to look in a certain direction, they had to squirt it with a water gun. This meant that on particularly long days, Rush himself was absolutley dripping wet from being sprayed in the face with waterguns almost continously. Talk about dedication to the job!


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** Well, nothing much to say here. It took longer to update this than I had originally planned, but in return I managed to start on a new story, The Hancock Initiative, and this chapter is truly humongous. So all in all, I'm pretty satisfied. Exams are steadily coming my way though, so I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to spend on writing. Meh, we'll see. Here's crossing my fingers that I'll manage to upload a new chapter pretty soon, but I first want to spend some time hammering out the plotlines for HI before returning to this.

Well that's enough from me, who wants to see James kick undead butt?!

Warning, gore. Lots and lots of gore. Seriously. It gets messy.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – James**

James shifted a bit in order to keep his balance as the longboat crested a particularly high wave, mind completely focused on the task ahead. Well, not completely. A small part of his brain kept prodding at his thoughts, insisting that he was missing something.

James turned to look over his shoulder, just in time to see the light of Will's lantern be swallowed up by the oppressing darkness inside the cave. A cave which currently held a chest of cursed gold, an entire pirate crew cursed by said gold, and the love of Will's life. Not a very advantageous situation to be sure, but James had faced far worse. Though credit where credit is due, this was pretty far up the list.

The problem with the situation that had a rebellious part of James' brain throwing a tantrum was the fact that _he_ had faced worse odds. And while he trusted Jack to escape with his life and the majority of his limbs, Will was still a rookie. A rookie with an aptitude for swords and, after intense "training" with him, a very mean right hook, sure, but in the end still a rookie.

Throw him in a bar and James could tell you from experience Will would walk away with a shiner but otherwise unharmed. Pit him against any common thug, criminal or wayward pirate and James' money would be on his sort-of apprentice. But an entire damned crew sailing under one of the most cunning and ruthless of pirate captains to rule the Caribbean sea?

No, James sided with the mutinous part of his brain on this one, the odds were definitely not in their favor. He agreed with Jack's idea to first scout out the place with a small party, since currently only James would survive a direct confrontation. But was there really a need to take Will? Why not Gibbs? Or even better, why not Raven? Her shapeshifting abilities were perfect for this. Something she had loudly proclaimed in protest to being left behind.

At the time Jack had simply said that in the state she was in she would act rashly and could blow their cover. Looking at Raven's face, which had made an impressive attempt at turning the same shade as her hair, despite her blue skin, James had agreed. Now though he found himself uneasy.

Will was in a way the worst possible choice Jack could make when deciding who to take with him. After all, Will had two reasons for acting rashly, apart from his lack of experience; one, the murderer of his father was in that cave, and second, the love of _his_ life was currently in the perilous position of possibly losing her _own_ life.

James frowned, then ruthlessly squashed the mutinous part of his brain, who by this time had managed to gain a following and had made large banners with "DANGER!" written so big, James could almost _hear_ the capital lettering. He would put his trust in Jack to see Will through it all. The wily pirate captain probably already had several schemes in place in order to make the crew of the _Pearl_ mortal again and in order to do that he needed Will. After a slight hesitation he decided he would also firmly put his faith in Will himself, trusting the young blacksmith to follow the older man's lead, and to put both his sword skills and his lessons to good use in order to get the hell out of dodge if things went completely pear-shaped.

James shook himself a little before focusing on the task ahead, _completely_ this time. They had to find the _Pearl_ , disable whatever crew was left to guard the ship, then commandeer said ship and get the hell out of there. All of this _before_ Barbossa came to the realization that he had the wrong blood in order to complete his ritual. Because Jack would bet both Jack's golden teeth and Gibb's rum stash that the dark captain would be storming out of the cave, jump on his ship and lead a destructive rampage across the seven seas in order to find the blood that he needed. Probably after making sure Miss Swann would depart the world of the living.

James clenched his jaw. He refused to let that happen. ' _Come on Jack, you're Will's only hope right now.'_ A voice from behind him pulled James out of his thoughts.

"Sir, where are we going?"

James turned around to address the speaker only to see empty air in front of him. James had a confused expression on his face until an annoyed cough came from below. James looked down incredulously, finding himself face to face with a stormy looking bald dwarf.

Well.

Face to belt buckle, but still.

Quickly composing himself James answered the surly looking dwarf, but pitched his voice to carry to the other crewmembers on the longboat, who were all doing a pitiful job at acting as if they weren't eaves-dropping.

"We are currently finding a way to hurt Captain Barbossa where it hurts him the most."

He gave a conspiring grin at that, but was instead met with blank, somewhat confused faces. Several of the crewmembers cave each other questioning looks, before turning back to him.

"We steal his treasure?", one of the men suggested.

"No.", James said with a sigh.

"We shoot him?", asked another.

"No.", James said, annoyed now.

Honestly, didn't these men pay any attention at all when something important happened?

"We shoot him, then take his treasure!", the first man offered, looking mightily pleased at himself at his own cleverness and shooting the other man a smug look.

" _No_.", James ground out, a vein visibly throbbing in his forehead.

"We steal his hat?"

"No! Wait, actually, from what Jack told me, that might actually work. Keep that one in mind."

"We kick him in his balls!", the dwarf roared, looking far too enthusiastic. And far, far too close to his family jewels to James' liking.

"No! No we are not doing _any_ of that!"

His crew quieted down and looked at him half in confusion and half in anticipation. James sighed and pinched his nose.

"We are going to steal his ship."

The comment left utter silence in his wake, the crew now looking at him incredulously. Then they all erupted as one. Through the cacophony of voices, James couldn't really make out anything the men said, though the gist of it was aimed at his brain and the crew's lack of faith in there actually being one in the first place. Having had enough of this, James took a deep breath.

"ENOUGH!"

The men quieted down immediately under his glare. James spoke, his voice barely above an animalistic growl.

"We are going to sail the waters across the island. We search for the anchorage of the _Pearl_ , which should be somewhere deep, out of sight and fairly close bind. Once we find the ship, we take the ship, we sail the ship here, load in whatever crew and supplies she needs and we get the hell out of here."

The crew was silent for a few moments before the dwarf spoke up.

"What happens then? Jack owes us a ship."

James shook his head.

"He didn't promise _a_ ship, he promised _one_ ship, the _Interceptor_ , to be used during this quest and to be yours after everything is said and done. We will sail away on the _Pearl_ , you sail away on the _Interceptor._ Of course, should any of you be willing to crew the _Pearl_ , you are welcome to do so."

James grinned as he saw several man whisper excitedly to each other, while others simply had greedy looks on their faces. Understandable, of course. The pirate world didn't work with a resume system or anything like that. Should a captain find himself with a ship but without a crew, he will then look for one. He does this mostly by either sending out some of his officers to find the men they think are worth hauling along, such as Jack did with Gibbs, or he will simply spread the news that he requires a crew to man the ship. The first method is widely used and is based on which people you know and who you trust. It's mostly used with small ships and the crewmembers often have sailed together before, or know the captain on a personal level.

However, the second method is used almost exclusively by the rich and/or famous. These two often coincide in the pirate world. The second method relies purely on fame; not on how many people you know, but on how many people know you. It's all about the name, which draws in hopeful sailors looking to share in either fame or fortune. Again, these two are almost inseparable when dealing with pirates.

The fame, or infamy, can be either that of the captain or that of the ship. While a famous ship will more often than not have a famous captain, this is not always the case. For instance, had Barbossa claimed the _Pearl_ before Jack had found a crew, then he would have needed to find one. He would have done this by spreading the name of the _Pearl_ instead of his own name, since the _Pearl_ was more widely known than him, but famous enough to attract attention. Likewise, should Jack succeed in the reclaiming of the _Pearl_ , but leave Barbossa alive, Barbossa would then have to either commandeer or buy a new ship. Should he commandeer a relatively unknown ship, or simply buy a new one, he would then advertise his own name, since it is more widely known than his current ship.

The reason why the crew was looking forward to the chance to crew the _Pearl_ was because there was a certain amount of prestige involved in sailing with famous names. Not only did this give you bragging rights in taverns and the like, a surprisingly important cornerstone of pirate-culture, but it also allowed you access to the more famous names.

At a certain point, a ship or captain becomes so famous, that there are more applicants for his ship then that he actually needs. So he'll take only the best. And here is where a process comes into play which resembles a resume somewhat. Applicants will be asked under who they have sailed before, or on what ships. The more impressive the list, the higher the chance of getting hired. Meaning that crewing famous ships, leads to opportunities to crewing even more famous ships. And, as cannot be stressed enough, fame and fortune are tightly intertwined in the pirate world. Meaning that for the crewmembers, the offer could be considered somewhat of a fast-track to the rich and famous.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Row! Row! Row!", the stormy looking dwarf roared, spurring the rest of the crew into action.

Looking out over the bow of the longboat, James didn't bother to hide his grin. Dangle the promise of fame and riches in front of a pirate's nose and he would jump overboard without a second thought.

* * *

The mist that hung eternally around the island like an oppressive shroud made searching for the _Black Pearl_ a far more tedious task than James had anticipated. Or wanted. The mist was so thick in places, the crew men in the back of the longboat could no longer see James who was perched on the bow.

They were forced to venture deep into every inlet, since they couldn't see what was in it from the entrance alone. This cost them valuable time, as not only did the fog slow them down, yes their boat was shallow, but the reefs were treacherous, but once they found out that they had searched the entire inlet for nothing, they had to double back again, losing them even more time.

James cursed silently as yet another inlet proved to be completely absent of any haunted pirate ships. This was the seventh they had searched. Should they continue any further in this direction they would be too far away from the _Interceptor_ to make it back in time. Also, there was a very probable possibility of the _Pearl_ being anchored in one of the inlets in the opposite direction in which they set out.

Looking back at the grim or frustrated looks of his small crew he saw that they had come to a similar realization. He frowned at the water in front of the bow, deep in thought, before nodding to himself, having reached a decision. He turned towards his men.

"Alright, listen up. We search another three inlets. Make it an even ten. I doubt Barbossa would anchor his prize ship any further off from where he can easily reach it. Then we turn back towards the Interceptor and start searching in the opposite direction for as long as we can."

The crew groaned, but didn't voice their protest and dutifully began rowing again. The eight inlet proved just as fruitless as the previous seven, and after searching everything in the ninth short of what was under sea-level, they admitted defeat there as well. James sighed.

"Just one more boys."

The crew reluctantly agreed and started picking up the pace again. As the tenth and final inlet became visible through the dense, swirling mist, James refused to get his hopes up, simple staring impassively at the grey fog, obscuring the inlet from view. He could almost feel the hopeful anticipation from the men behind him.

As they turned the corner, slowly drifting through the dense fog hiding the world from their eyes, James heard a sound that made him give an explosive sigh of relief. It was a sound any sailor worth his salt had heard as many times as there were stars in the sky or grains of sand in the desert. The sound could be heard almost continuously in every harbor, no matter how big or small. It was a creaking and groaning sound. The sound of a ship.

He grinned at his men, who looked back at him with confused looks. James senses were far superior to any human, so it was only after a few more moments that the crew heard the sound as well. The moment they did, smiles erupted on their faces, some of them already turning towards each other to whisper about their good fortune. James cut it off quickly though with a sharp hiss. Crouching low, he spoke in a soft, menacing voice.

"Haul in the oars and nobody make a sound. You so much as breathe harder than a mouse and I will gut you myself."

The crew looked at him fearfully, not fully sure if he was serious or not. Seeing he had their attention and they had done as he asked, James explained.

"The mist hides us from view, so they cannot see us, but they can still hear us. We have stealth on our side now, but if they hear us it's gone and it's going to be a whole lot nastier."

Seeing the men nod in understanding he continued.

"We will let the tide take us as close as possible, and then we silently board the ship. If there's anybody still on there, _do not shoot them_. Sound travels far and Barbossa might hear it. Use your knives and swords. These guys are immortal, so just stabbing them won't work."

He saw some of the men turn green at the thought, obviously rethinking the intelligence of going against an immortal damned crew. James thought back to a half hour ago, when Jack had pulled him aside for a few words.

* * *

 _Jack's grip on his arm was tight and his eyes were intent as they looked into his own._

" _Remember when we were locked up in Port Royal?"_

 _James grunted._

" _Aye, bub, imprisonment tends to linger."_

 _Jack shook his head, obviously not in the mood for banter._

" _Listen, do you remember the shot form the Pearl? You pulled me to safety and were knocked out yourself."_

 _James nodded with a grimace. Sure he was immortal and no stranger to pain, but getting your head smashed in by cannon shrapnel and pieces of your own cell-wall?_

 _Not fun._

 _At all._

 _James nodded. "Aye, I remember. What of it?"_

 _Jack grinned then._

" _Remember what you did when you woke up?"_

 _James had to think hard this time. His head still had been somewhat fuzzy and he had been distracted by the familiar burn of his healing factor kicking in. The fact that it had been his head that was currently being repaired only made matters worse. Still though, James felt he should remember what came after._

 _He remembered waking up covered in blood. Some blokes standing in front of their prison. One of the guys stabbing him in the chest. Why though? James ransacked his brain trying to come up with an answer. Suddenly it clicked together. The man's arm had been shoved through the bars in order to choke Jack. But it had been made entirely of bone. Bone that James had broken almost clean in half._

 _His fuzzy head made him not pay any real attention to it and it faded to the background, but he now vividly remember the discomfort the other man had been in and the way he cradled his arm. Looking up at Jack he saw the pirate grin wildly._

" _Guess you are right James. There ain't nobody like you, except you."_

 _James merely grinned back, a feral gleam in his eyes._

* * *

James continued, putting the conclusions he and Jack had come to about their enemy's immortality to good use.

"Try and disable them. Cut of their heads, or their arms so they can't pull their weapons. They won't die from it, but they can't heal, so unless someone else fixes them, they'll be out for the count."

The men who had turned green before had somehow managed to keep up the colour, while simultaneously turning as white as a sheet.

' _Impressive_. _'_

James dismissed them as he turned back towards the bow of the ship, his eyes, so much better than that of even the best look-out, struggling to pierce the fog mere feet in front of him. And then the mist suddenly parted, as if a stagehand had gotten the cue to part the drapes and did this with a zealous enthusiasm. In front of them, drifting majestically on the waves, was the _Black Pearl_.

Many of the men let out soft gasps of surprise, and James found that he couldn't really fault them. The _Pearl_ was majestic. A three master made out of wood as dark as ebony. As they glided alongside her, still unnoticed from any crew left behind, James thought that she had a serene, but haunted, beauty to her. The infamous black sails were in tatters, so much so that James wondered how she even managed to sail, never mind be considered one of the fastest ships to roam the Caribbean seas.

As they got closer, they could see the wood was grimy, and was showing a distinct lack of care. Damage from past battles was clearly visible between the dark panels of her hull, like battle scars on a fair maiden. James found himself even angrier with Barbossa. Not only had he stolen this ship through betrayal and deceit instead of winning it in battle, but he had obviously mistreated it, doing nothing to take care of her. The _Pearl_ suffered under Barbossa's rule and James found a vindictive pleasure in freeing her from the black-hearted captain and returning her to her rightful owner.

Finally they were close enough, their longboat almost touching her hull. They still were unnoticed. James turned to his crew, a finger to his lips. Seeing his crew nod in understand, James spoke softly, pointing to the upper deck of the _Pearl_.

"Everybody prepare to board. Remember, no sound, no guns, and cut instead of stab."

After getting another round of nods, and a rather unsettling grin from the bald dwarf, James turned back towards the _Pearl_ , grasping the lowest rung and swiftly started climbing. Having done this countless times before during his varying adventures the last few decades, James had no trouble scaling the side of the cursed ship. When he arrived at the highest rung James peeked between two pillars of the balustrade surrounding the upper deck.

The deck was deserted, but he could vaguely hear voiced drifting up from the stairs which led below. Quickly vaulting over the low balustrade, James landed quietly as a cat on the deck, his heavy boots barely making any sound as they hit the deck. Turning back towards the balustrade he saw the dwarf looking at him expectedly. Giving a curt nod, the dwarf immediately climbed further along. He was too short to vault the balustrade like James had done and was struggling getting his small frame across the railing. James huffed and walked towards the bald man, grasped him by the back of his vest and set him down on the deck. The dwarf gave him a dark look, but James simply raised an eyebrow, causing the dwarf to lose the look and give a grudging nod of thanks.

During this, the rest of his crew had managed to get on deck as well, looking around in a mix of nervousness and anticipation. James had to hand it to them; they had all boarded with only the softest of sounds. James was pretty sure that unless Barbossa had someone like him or his brother in his crew they were still unnoticed. Pointing towards the stairs, James stalked slowly and soundlessly towards it, followed somewhat more noisily by the rest of the men.

James paused at the entrance, trying to listen to the voices, in order to determine how many men there were. So far he had heard only two voices, though this didn't mean that there weren't more people there. Still, it was a rather low amount. Either Barbossa was more arrogant than they thought, or these few guards were deemed sufficient enough to defend the whole ship. James really hoped that the first was the case, since the second posed a whole new level of problems that he didn't want to deal with. Because if Barbossa thought that less than a handful of men were enough to defend an entire ship, then the men he had chosen would be very dangerous indeed. He turned towards his crew.

"Draw your swords.", he said softly. "It won't do to lay in ambush and then give yourself away when they hear the ring of steel being drawn."

The men quickly complied, though it made James wince. They had done so quickly and at the same time, making it far too loud for James' liking. Luckily, a bellowing laughter drifted up the stairs from below, drowning out the noise. He slowly descended the stairs continuously scanning his surroundings, wary of any pirate coming from any of the other rooms, or maybe laying in ambush. However, it seemed there was nobody else left behind but the two James had heard. Arriving at the bottom of the stairs James finally got a good look at the guards.

One was a massive man, standing well over a foot higher than James, armed with what appeared to be small anchors, their ends sharpened to a mean looking point. The man was dressed in tattered dark breeches and a vest which showed off much of his muscled chest.

The second man was armed more traditionally than his companion, carrying a cutlass and a single pistol from what James could see. His clothing was somewhat more eye-catching though, consisting of striped pants of what probably used to be a high quality, a shirt with far too many frills for James' liking and a vibrant yellow coat. The colour was almost too ugly to look at. When new it might have been a dubious fashion statement, but frayed and dirtied as it was now it was simply a yellow monstrosity.

The large man was seated on a barrel with his back towards the stairs, hands on a table in front of him. The table was made with a pristine white cloth, silverware and delicious looking food. The second man sat across from his companion and was currently bent over, rummaging through a large chest.

"Hurry up will ye?", the larger man rumbled. "The curse will be lifted soon and we can have the first proper meal in near ten years, I don't plan on missin' it because you were picky about what to drink."

As James quietly stalked closer, keeping to the shadows and followed closely by his crew, he slid out his claws. The other man, still bent over, replied in curt tones.

"It is precisely the fact that it is the first time in near ten years that we can eat proper like, so I am not goin' to waste it like you intend to do. This meal needs to be perfect, and that means matchin' the perfect drink to the food."

The man straightened up, making James freeze in his tracks. The man was too fully immersed in what he had dug out of the chest to notice them though. It was a bottle of what appeared to be wine. Expensive wine at that. The yellow-coated man peered at the label with his eyes narrowed in concentration, his lips moving inaudibly as he mumbled what was printed on the bottle. After nearly a minute of this, in which James hadn't dared to so much as blink, the burly man suddenly let out a bellowing laughter. The sudden and very loud sound startled James so much he had to force every muscle in his body to _not_ jump ten feet into the air.

"You ain't got no idea what's written there, right?", the large man laughed loudly.

His colour challenged companion sighed in annoyance, closing his eyes and pinching his nose.

"For the last time Bruce, I can-", the man cut himself off as he looked up, first in annoyance, then in shock as he finally noticed James and his crew poised to cut them down.

The burly man apparently noticed his companion's look, because he began to turn around on his barrel.

"What're ye lookin' at-", the man started.

He never got any further than that, because James surged forwards, his claws imbedding themselves in the back of the man's skull, and erupting through his forehead. Caught off guard because of the violent death and the unusual weapons, the coated man was a few seconds too slow before pulling his pistol from his belt.

James saw the man reach for his weapon and sprung over the table. The man wasn't allowed to take the shot; it would be heard for miles! As the barrel of the pistol aligned with the center of his forehead and a cruel sneer formed on the guard's face, James leg extended out in a perfect roundhouse kick. Time slowed down almost to a crawl as James saw the man's fingers start to squeeze the trigger, his own foot nearing the man's hand.

Then suddenly it was over and both James and the guard looked at the pistol with a slightly puzzled expression. It was thrown violently from the coated man's grip before the man could have taken the shot and was now lying in a dark corner of the deck. Taking advantage of the confusion, James slammed his claws into the guard's chest, causing the damned crewmember to cry out in pain.

Lifting the man up high up above his head, James let out a beastly roar and threw the man towards his crewmembers, who were ready for it. The guard was quickly relieved of both his arms, and the bald dwarf took great pleasure in taking off the man's head.

' _Really need to have a talk with Gibbs about that one.'_ , James thought to himself.

The dwarf turned towards James with a proud grin, only to widen his eyes in horror. James was puzzled at first until he heard the sound of chains behind him.

' _Right, we didn't disable the first gu-'_

Any further thought was cut off by an angry roar behind him and pain exploded in his side. James was thrown violently into one of the walls which such force, he almost shattered the wood. He slid down the grimy surface with a pained moan. Vaguely the sounds of battle reached him, but he didn't pay attention to it. He had his eyes closed, his head was ringing from the impact with the wall, which had broken multiple bones as well and he could feel his right lung filling with blood. Giving a pitiful cough, which only served to intensify the headache, James hunched over.

It quickly became apparent what had happened. The large man had nailed him in the side with one of his anchors, ripping a large part of his chest open and piercing one of his lungs, maybe even his heart. The knowledge didn't help him though; his healing was automatic, meaning that he couldn't steer it to heal something first. The next five minutes were wrecked with agony, his mind still a haze as he tried to empty his lungs as fast as possible to speed up the healing.

Finally he managed to draw a rattling breath. Opening his eyes he finally saw the battle occurring mere feet in front of him. Or perhaps slaughter was a better word. From the dozen or so men who had come with him, only four were still alive, one of them being the dwarf.

The large man with the anchors stood snarling before them, his body mangled but still standing. Several swords were stuck in his chest and legs, one of them nearly cut in half at the knee. The man's left arm hung limp at his side, obviously broken at some point. The man's face though was the most horrifying. His jaw was completely gone, as was an eye and the better part of both his ears. There was no blood flowing from the wounds yet the man was almost covered in it.

Looking around as James came to his feet, he saw the reason why. The floor, the walls, even the ceiling were covered in blood. The man's weapons had torn enormous gashes in his enemies, spilling their blood in great amounts. Focusing back on their undead adversary, James took a shaky step forward.

It was too late though as the monster, it couldn't be called anything other than that at this point, let out a roar and charged the man closest to him. The sailor, a fat man with a rapidly receding hairline, let out a shriek of fear and wildly stabbed forwards with his sword. The cutlass was effortlessly bashed aside by the monster's anchor, before, with a grunt and a heave, the unusual weapon was swung back around, tearing the fat man's head clean of his shoulders.

While this was taking place, the last two of James' men threw down their swords and ran up the stairs clamoring in fear. The bald dwarf had taken action though. Having picked up a sword, his own amongst the numerous already imbedded in the monster, he gave a battle yell and charged forwards, swinging with all the strength his small frame would allow right as the monster's back was turned.

The small stature of the dwarf caused the cut to be around knee-height with the monsters large stature. But it was effective nonetheless. The sword bit deeply in the already mangled knee, completely cutting it in two. Unbalanced, the monster crashed down with a roar. The dwarf let out another yell and jumped closer towards its head, intending to finally end it. The monster was faster though, swinging its broken arm around like a bat, nailing the dwarf in the face.

The bald man of small stature was violently thrown back, landing painfully. Looking up, he saw the monster crawling to its remaining knee, before fixing its single eye on him, pure rage the only thing visible in it. With a roar, the mutilated crewmember pushed off, his weapon raised high above his head, intend on killing the small man in front of him. The dwarf closed his eyes, dreading the coming blow. But before the bloodied weapon could finish its deadly arc, another roar was heard, followed by sound of something heavy impacting something that was slightly heavier.

Peeking through a single eye, the dwarf let out a shaky sigh of relief; James had tackled the monster away from his downed crewmember, finally healed enough to join the fight. And fight he did, with a savage brutality the cursed crewman found himself helpless against. Every swing was dodged, while in retaliation, James claws ripped into him, slashing and stabbing with wild abandon.

In short order, James had the monster pinned on his claws. It made a gurgling sound, and the hatred in its eye showed that it still wasn't out for the count, not yet. It raised its arm above its head, intent on smashing in James' skull. Giving a roar of his own, James pulled his claws out of the monsters chest, grabbed one of the swords sticking out of its chest, ripped it out and with a mighty swing, cut off the cursed crewman's head. It fell to the bloodied floor with a dull thump before rolling away into the dark bowels of the _Pearl_.

The body, now completely without any form of guidance, tried to balance on its remaining leg, swinging wildly with its remaining arm. Looking at the monstrosity with disgust, James lifted his boot and slammed it into the things chest, making it sail back and crash down on the table, breaking it in half and spilling the meticulously planned dinner all over the floor. It didn't get up.

James let out a tired sigh and turned back towards the dwarf, who looked up at him with amazement clearly visible on his face. Walking towards the bald man, James bent down, offering his arm.

"Let's get the hell out of this place."

The dwarf looked around at their bloodied surroundings before clasping James' arm and getting to his feet. He gave a shaky nod.

"A-Aye."

* * *

 **AN:** That's it folks! Somewhat gorier than my previous chapter, but as the confrontation with Barbossa draws near it is to be expected. Let me know what you think about my abilities to write fight/action scenes. No need to be gentle (though it would be far preferred), I'm trying to improve as much as possible and your feedback helps me with that.

 **Fun Fact:** Industrial Light and Magic designers, reponsible for the visual effects of the PoC movie, scanned turkey jerky to create the effect of decomposing skin when the pirates turn into their skeletal forms. Appropriate for pirates who have run a- _fowl_ of a nasty curse, eh? eh? Guys? No? Okay then... *goes off to sulk in a corner*


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Hello and welcome to the twelfth chapter of MoC! I'm sorry if this took a bit longer than I promised, but exams swallowed more time than I think they would. I was also caught up in laying down the foundations for HI (got some really crazy and cool idea's for that!) and another fanfiction called The Firefly Chronicles. It's a Firefly/Riddick crossover and THE greatest crossover on this site imo. Go check it out! :) Also my mind has been swimming with ideas for a Gintama/Bleach crossover, but that'll remain in the idea-stage until I get MoC done. Or HI, whichever comes first. If you have any suggestions though for the G/B crossover, feel free to PM me, I'd like to know what your creative little minds can come up with :P

Without further ado: the suspenseful tale of Will saving his lady-love!

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – Will**

Will tried to make as little noise as possible when he sneaked to the dark passageways in the massive cavern. An action which was significantly more complicated than it should have been, thanks to the large and heavy oar Will was carrying with him.

He stamped down any sense of guilt as he made his way deeper into the cave, skirting around puddles on the ground or shafts of light coming from crevices high up in the ceiling above him. He knew that Jack had asked him to stay with the boats and he knew that the pirate probably had a plan in mind.

Probably.

But he also knew that Jack only looked out for one person: himself. He wouldn't care about Elizabeth's safety, only her possible use as a bargaining chip. The captain would use anybody and do anything in order to sail away with his ship under his feet, and his pistol a bullet lighter.

Now, to be clear, Will was perfectly fine with that part of the plan. He honestly couldn't care less who had possession of the _Pearl_ , as long as it wasn't Barbossa. Something that could be assured by aforementioned bullet. He was even okay with being used by Jack in his plans, as long as he got out alive. More importantly, as long as _Elizabeth_ came out alive.

Which also was the part of Jack's plan that Will was decidedly _not_ fine with. As much as he wanted to kill Barbossa, Elizabeth took priority. He needed to bring her to safety first, even if it meant to pass up the chance to finally end Barbossa now; there was too much risk involved for Elizabeth's survival if he followed Jack's plan now.

Which led to his current position, not at the boats, as Jack had asked of him, but mere feet behind the sly captain, oar held above his head, ready to strike.

' _I really am sorry Jack. Turns out I'm about to do something stupid anyway.'_ , Will thought to himself, before purposefully scuffing some pebbles with his boot.

Jack stiffened before he whirled around, eyes wide in surprise. Before he could say anything, Will brought down the oar with all his strength, wincing as he heard a dry crack coming from Jack's skull before the pirate went down with a soft thud.

Ruthlessly suppressing the guilt that threatened to well up inside of him (alongside the first traces of panic) Will threw the oar to the ground; it would only serve to slow him down now.

Sparing a last glance at the unconscious pirate, Will turned around and crept further down the tunnel.

" _You know, for someone having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one."_

Pointedly ignoring the voice in his head, which sounded disturbingly like Jack, Will rounded the corner, only to almost stumble into the damned crew of the _Pearl_. Stiffening for less than a second, Will hurriedly retreated as silently as he could. Luckily for him, the crew was entirely focused on Barbossa, who now held a bloodied medallion in his hands. Will felt his own blood freeze in his veins at the sight of the red-stained piece of cursed gold, his mind immediately jumping to the worst possible scenario's regarding Elizabeth's health.

He frantically searched the area around Barbossa, hoping to see even so much as a glimpse of the Governor's daughter. His sigh of relief went unnoticed amongst the frantic chanting of the cursed crew when he saw her standing next to Barbossa, a slightly confused expression on her face as she stared at her hand, which was bleeding from a large but shallow cut.

As the chanting of the crew died down to a confused silence, Will made his way around the large cavern as silently as he could. The central chamber was surrounded by several natural corridors, allowing for one to walk around it without actually having to enter it even once.

Will was almost at the end of a corridor which ended close behind where Barbossa was standing when he froze in his tracks, a gunshot having rung out through the entire cave. Fear clutched at his heart and clawed at his mind as he raced towards the central cavern, any notion of stealth completely forgotten. It was only survival instinct that kept him from barreling into a cave filled to the brim with murderous pirates.

Well, that, and the sight of an alive Elizabeth.

His sigh was cut off before it even fully formed when Barbossa gripped Elizabeth by the shoulders and started shaking her. The reason for the violent act quickly became apparent.

"You, maid! What is your name?! Is your name Turner!? WAS YOUR FATHER WILLIAM TURNER?!", the captain roared, his voice seemingly filling the large chamber with ease.

In the silence that followed, Elizabeth's answer was heard just as clearly, despite not having raised her voice even in the slightest.

"No."

The answer was filled with as much scorn and condescension as was possible to put in a single word. Barbossa wasn't deterred though.

"Where is his child!? The child that sailed from England eight years ago?! The child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner?!"

Elizabeth remained silent in the onslaught of the man's look of fury and flying spittle. It only served to make Barbossa even angrier, his face now approaching an impressive shade of red.

"WHERE?!"

From his hiding place, Will winced at the sheer volume the dark captain produced, swearing on Jack's hat he saw some dust shaken loose from the cave's ceiling.

Still Elizabeth remained silent, somehow managing to poor even more condescension in her answer to the pirate captain, even though she didn't use any words to do so. Something that Barbossa clearly didn't appreciate as a look of sheer fury appeared on his features. With a snarl he backhanded Elizabeth, causing her to fall of the small hill of treasure and gold on which the chest of Cortez stood.

Will's knuckles were white as he gripped the stone wall next to him in order to keep himself from running into gutting the black-hearted captain. Only the knowledge that it would only annoy Barbossa kept him from doing so. However, the captain's violence also created an opportunity; Elizabeth had come to a halt at the bottom of the hill, completely out of sight from the crew of the _Pearl_. For a moment Will thought furiously on how to get to Elizabeth unseen, until he noticed she was lying next to a small stream.

Which ran through the very corridor he was currently standing in.

For the first time since departing the _Interceptor_ , Will allowed himself a smile. He quickly slid into the water, biting back a collection of curses which would have made James proud, as the freezing water enveloped his body.

Ignoring the cold with a dogged determination, which would have made Jack proud, Will took a deep breath, and dove underneath the surface. Trying to stay as close as possible to the bottom of the shallow stream and keeping his movements as few and small as possible, Will finally reached Elizabeth after a few tense moments.

He broke the surface, quietly inhaling the stale air of the cave into his greedy lungs. From the angry shouts he could hear from the crew, Will concluded that they had realized they were still very much cursed. Something they took offence to and apparently decided to blame on Barbossa. Who took offence to being blamed, if what Will could hear was anything to go by, the sound of drawn steel clearly ringing out across the cave.

"If any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!"

Will briefly hoped that someone amongst the damned crew would be dumb enough to take the fearsome captain up on his offer, but it seemed Barbossa had earned his infamy. The young blacksmith allowed himself the briefest of moments of grudging respect for the pirate. Scaring of the entire crew of a ship was an impressive feat. Scaring off an entire _immortal_ crew was something else entirely.

Not willing to waste the opportunity provided by the crew's distraction, who were too cowardly to challenge Barbossa personally, but were brave enough to voice their complaints, Will swam forward. Placing a hand on Elizabeth's mouth to keep her from screaming, Will prepared himself to wake her.

Something that he shouldn't have bothered with it seemed, as Elizabeth's eyes immediately snapped open. Apparently she had just pretended to be unconscious.

' _Clever girl_ ', Will thought to himself with a smirk, before placing a finger on his lips.

Seeing recognition light up in Elizabeth's eyes, Will quickly made a "follow me" gesture, getting a quick nod in response. He saw her hand dart out to grab something lying in the dirt next to them, but not willing to waste anymore time, Will dismissed it and slipped under the surface, though the yelling of the cursed crew was still audible.

"You brought us here for nothing!", a crewmember shouted.

"I will not take questioning or second guesses from the likes of you, Master Twigg!", Barbossa barked at the now named crewman, managing to inflict the same levels as condescension as Elizabeth had done. However, Barbossa's answer had a menacing undertone, one promising terrifying retribution, something Elizabeth could never hope to match. To achieve such a tone, one would have to have done unspeakable things, terrible things, things that Will would make certain Elizabeth would never even _know_ existed.

Will quickly broke the surface once they had reached the relative safety of the corridor. He pulled Elizabeth, who was weighed down by her dress, out of the water, inwardly wincing at the dripping noise the heavy cloth made on the cavern floor. However, there was nothing Will could do about it now, so he would simply have to hope the crewmembers were too busy, or too loud, and get to the _Interceptor_ as fast as possible.

Grabbing a firm hold of Elizabeth's uninjured hand, and almost succeeding in ignoring the way her soft skin felt in his calloused hand, Will made his way to the small beach where he and Jack had docked their longboat. The blacksmith was so focused on escaping the cave, he failed to see that his escape, while unnoticed by the crew, was caught by perhaps the only undead monkey alive.

Or as alive as an undead monkey can be, that is.

As they ran through the corridor leading to the exit of the cave, they passed the still body of Jack. Luckily he was lying face-down, so Elizabeth didn't recognize the pirate, simply audibly swallowing and squeezing his hand, something he reciprocated with as much reassurance as he could muster.

He briefly thought on retrieving the captain, but dismissed it almost immediately. Though it was a cruel thing to do, and it left a vile taste in his mouth, Will simply couldn't afford the delay. Elizabeth's safety was more important than anything, more important than Jack, more important than his own life, more important than his revenge even.

So instead, the blacksmith soldiered on, reaching the boats after a few hurried moments. He jumped into the closest one, turned around and stretched out his hand in order to help Elizabeth aboard. Elizabeth wasn't there however. Before his confusion could turn into panic, he heard a feminine grunt come from his left.

Briefly he thought on how a grunt could possibly be feminine, but he pushed the errant thought away. When he had a deck beneath his feet, James at his back and Mystique at the wheel he would spare a few moments of his time to ponder the gender of grunts.

Next to him Elizabeth was pulling the oars of the longboat closest to them out of the small vessel, sweat pouring of her face. Apparently feeling his confused gaze on her, she turned around with an exasperated expression.

"Do you _want_ them to follow us or not?", she huffed.

Will simply stared at her dumbfoundly, before allowing himself to smirk in a manner that was eerily similar to Jack.

You know, minus the golden teeth, of course.

* * *

The short trip to the exit of the cave was surprisingly quiet. Will was completely focused on rowing as fast as he could, while Elizabeth cradled her injured hand, her eyes glazed over as she stared into the distance. It was obvious the trauma of the last few weeks had finally begun to catch up to her, but until they had reached safety, there was nothing Will could do about it.

As they finally exited the cavern, Will sighed in bliss as he finally felt sunlight on his skin after what felt like years in the oppressive darkness of the cave. He saw from the corner of his eye that Elizabeth sat up a little straighter, the sunlight, dulled as it may be through the mist, and the gentle breeze obviously helping her to fight off the terrors clawing at her mind for just a little bit longer.

The surprisingly idyllic moment as utterly shattered however as both their eyes landed on the ships floating next to each other.

Ship _s_.

As in, more than one.

They saw a large commotion aboard the upper deck of the _Interceptor_ , the cause of which could easily be traced to the other ship. Because floating next to the _Interceptor_ , as haunting as she was beautiful, was a ship with sails as black as the heart of her captain.

The _Black_ _Pearl_.

For an irrational moment of panic, Will thought that somehow Barbossa had learned about the arrival of the _Interceptor_ and Elizabeth's escape, and had ordered the _Pearl_ to sink them both. Logic quickly took over though as he noticed that there appeared to be no fighting aboard either ship, he hadn't heard the tell-tale sound of cannonfire, and that, in order to warn the _Pearl_ , Barbossa had to first pass them in order to get to the ship in the first place.

By the vicelike grip she had on his arms, and her frantic breathing however, Will figured that Elizabeth had yet to come to those observations herself.

"Will!", she breathed in a terrified whisper, her hold on his arm tightening itself even further.

Will let go of the oars, and grabbed Elizabeth shoulders as he leaned forwards, trying to ignore the heat of her skin under his hands, or the way her perfect lips were parted slightly.

He succeeded.

For the most part anyway.

"Elizabeth, listen to me.", he said in as calm a voice as he could manage right now.

"Whatever the _Pearl_ is doing here, we won't find out until we manage to board the _Interceptor_ , okay?", he asked, only continuing after Elizabeth had managed to give him a shaky nod.

"So, we are going to go over there, we are going to find out what is going on, and then we will get out of here as fast as we can.", he said in his most confident tone, trying to sound as if there simply was no other way of things playing out as he had just said they would.

It apparently worked, because Elizabeth closed her eyes and gave him a nod as she exhaled slowly. Holding her shoulders a little longer to see if she truly had composed herself, and because he liked the way she felt beneath her skin, though he couldn't admit it, Will let go after a few moments and grabbed the oars again.

Looking up at the large ship with black sails and a haunted aura, Will couldn't help the shiver that rang down his spine.

' _I have a really bad feeling about this.´_

* * *

The commotion was bigger than Will had thought, and certainly louder, since it took him a few yells before he was noticed and a rope was let down from the deck of the _Interceptor_. Helping Elizabeth on board, Will looked around in confusion.

"What is going on?", Elizabeth asked him in a whisper, looking around her with suspicious eyes. So far, her interactions with pirates had been less than stellar and know she was surrounded by them.

Unconsciously Will stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body, before calling out the same question. He was answered almost immediately by a fammiliar gruff voice.

"Will?! That you lad?!"

Will heard Elizabeth gasp in terror, and he couldn't really blame her as James pushed himself through the crowd. The immortal's coat and shirt were shredded and what remained of the rags was coloured almost uniformly red, and there was very little doubt where the colour had come from.

Reading their expressions of confused horror correctly James chuckled bitterly.

"Ran into some trouble when we commandeered the _Pearl_."

Before Will could question exactly what kind of trouble was capable of shredding an immortal's clothing, and if James had actually been insane enough to commandeer Barbossa's ship, an indignant cry came from one of the crewmembers.

"Some trouble!? Eight of ours! Dead! Because of _you_!"

James whirled around, his claws extended from his hands and a snarl on his lips.

"You want to repeat yourself sailor?!"

A hushed silence fell over the crew, though none of the glares had lessened even in the slightest. He could feel Elizabeth take a hold of his arm again, though if it was because of the palpable tension or because of James' claws, he couldn't tell.

"James, what happened?", he asked instead, hoping he sounded as authoritative as he tried to sound.

The clawed man spared a final glare at the vocal crewman before snorting and turning towards Will.

"It's like I said bub, we ran into some trouble commandeering the _Pearl_. Barbossa left some guards. We left what remained of them on the seafloor.", James chuckled.

Will could almost _feel_ Elizabeth pale behind him, though again he didn't know what had caused it. It could have been James' troubling statement. Or the disturbingly wide-grinning dwarf standing beside James. He shook of the thought, Barbossa had probably noticed his sacrifice's absence and stealing the oars hadn't bought them enough time to waste any.

"Then what's the problem? We can leave now right?", he hurriedly asked of the immortal.

James snorted in reply.

"The _Interceptor_ could, yes. The _Pearl_ 's gonna need a crew though; her sails are shot to hell. Don't rightly know how Barbossa managed to get her to be the fastest ship around.", the clawed man answered in a bitter tone.

"It's because she's cursed, she is!", one of the crewmen yelled, though Will couldn't tell if it was the same on from before, or someone else this time.

James' expression turned furious again, but he didn't say anything. There wasn't really anything the man _could_ say really, because there was a very real possibility that the _Pearl_ was indeed cursed. Will didn't care though. They had to leave.

They had to leave _now_.

"Then we take the _Interceptor_ , and leave the _Pearl_ , same way we left the _Dauntless_ in Port Royal."

He could feel Elizabeth's questioning gaze bore in the back of his skull, but he ignored her for now. Once they were safe, he would answer every question she had.

James appeared pleased by the idea, a grin forming on his face, before it quickly fell. Gibbs explained why before Will could even ask.

"Can't do that lad. Jack promised the _Interceptor_ to the crew, it's theirs now. 'Sides, he would be right pissed he would, if we sank the _Pearl_. Honestly, there ain't much we can do now without Jack's say so.", Gibbs told him in a frustrated tone, glaring at the crew around him.

Obviously their cowardice didn't sit well with Jack's first mate, despite suffering heavily from superstition himself. Suddenly James' eyes narrowed and Will felt ice cold dread forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Will. Where _is_ Jack?", James calmly asked.

Seeing the eyes of the entire crew swing to him, Will swallowed before answering.

"He fell behind."

Will just had time to hear Elizabeth shriek in surprise and fear, before pain exploded in his head and he hit the deck. Before darkness claimed him, Will saw James' furious expression loom over him while an errant thought flowed through his mind.

' _This seems oddly familiar._ '

Then Will knew no more.

* * *

 **AN:** Next chapter we will see the full consequences of James' daring heroics and Will's sudden but inevitable betrayal. Maybe I'll do a chapter from the POV of Elizabeth or Barbossa, but I'm not sure. I will definetely include chapters from Elizabeth's POV in the sequels, simply because her role is a lot bigger than in _Curse of the Black Pearl_. While she never really is the annoying damsel-in-distress female lead, though at times she can be right annoying, her role in the first PoC movie is just a lot of the same for a large part of the movie, which is why I decided against using her: a lot of chapters would feel similar. I am somewhat regretting not deciding to use Barbossa's POV, but he has a somewhat similar problem to Elizabeth, in that for the first part of the movie, his chapters would feel very alike. Anyway that's enough from me, until next time folks!

 **Fun Fact:** At the time of shooting, Keira Knightly, who plays Elizabeth Swann, was only 17. When I was 17 I was doing... not much of anything really. Let me know what you accomplished by the time you were 17! :)


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** So. Apologies are in order, I think. Sorry it took so long to update, but I started revising all my earlier chapter, since their lay out, among other things, is kinda shit and I'm afraid this discourages most readers from continuing to read the rest of the story. However, by this point, MotC has reached a 100 pages in Word, without the lay-out I use on this site, so as you can imagine, it took a while to get through the entire thing.

BUT!

I'm here now! Armed with my notes and your enthousiastic response to this fic, I intend to continue onwards, with a semi-regular updating schedule, in which updates wil come at least once a month, as the focus of my writing is now focused on getting HI _out_ of the set-up arc, and getting Naruto _into_ the set-up arc.

Let me know what you think of the fight in this chapter, it took me a very long time and a lot of rewrites and I'm still unhappy about it.

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – James**

There was a hushed silence amongst the crew of the _Interceptor_ after Will had hit the deck. Nobody dared to speak up, uneasy with the furious expression on James' face and unwilling to draw his anger. Miss Swann, though, was not part of the crew. Her horrified expression shifted slowly from the unconscious Will to the fuming James, where it lingered for a few tense seconds.

And then the silence shattered.

"What on earth have you done, you... you... _barbarian_!"

' _Damn, that girl has a set of lungs on her.´_ , James couldn't help but think despite the urgency of the situation, rubbing his ear distractedly. Seeing the girl glower at him and opening her mouth to continue her tirade, James quickly cut her off.

"Look missy, Will here did something stupid, so he had what's coming for him. Now, we have bigger issues to deal with, so if you want to yell at me, fine, but at least until _after_ this wretched island has disappeared behind the horizon, got it?!", James roared at her.

The girl's eyes widened as the colour left her face, apparently not even realizing how she scooted away from James in order to be closer to Will's prone body. James ruthlessly squashed any guilt he felt at yelling at the traumatized girl like that, but the fact of the matter was that what he had said was the cold hard truth. They simply couldn't afford to linger any longer. He didn't know what Will had done in order to stall the undead pirates, but the immortal doubted it would hold them off for long.

As in answer to his thought, bellows of pure rage reached them from within the bowels of the cave. Apparently Barbossa had realized his prize had been stolen from him.

Nervous muttering broke out amongst the pirates aboard the _Interceptor_ , the crew obviously wanting to be anywhere else but _here_. James gritted his teeth. The situation had been bad already, but with the black hearted captain of the _Pearl_ obviously intending to go on the warpath, the situation had worsened to unmanageable quicker that James could blink.

"We're leaving!", one of the crew members yelled, muttered agreement coming from the rest of the men.

Before James could answer Gibbs had rounded on the unfortunately vocal man.

"And how do you propose we do that, lad?! In case you hadn't noticed, we're gonna need a crew for the _Pearl_! Unless you want to leave Barbossa his ship so he can chase us down without even going through the trouble of rowing where he anchored his ship in the first place, thanks to us!", Jack's first mate roared in the man's face, spittle flying from his mouth with every other word.

"Screw the _Pearl_ then! It brought us nothing but grief it did! I says we do as Turner said, we sink it!", another man from the crew spoke up, again followed by a chorus of agreement, this time a little louder.

James was both beyond furious and very, _very_ worried. If things continued like this, he would have a mutiny on his hands. Which was just bad news all around for everyone.

Well. Except for Barbossa, maybe. The bastard would probably just laugh his head off before picking off however was left standing.

Which James already knew would be him.

Making a split-second decision he hoped wouldn't haunt him for the rest of his innumerable days, James roared above the din of the crew around him.

" _ **ENOUGH!"**_

A hushed silence fell across the deck, men looking at him in a mix of weariness and fear.

James growled deep in his chest, before speaking in a low, menacing tone, promising a world of hurt for the next idiot to interrupt him.

"We are _not_ sinking the _Pearl_. Get me? We lost too many men to simply throw away their sacrifice like that."

Several men looked guiltily at their feet, though the majority simply appeared sullen at the reminder of the fate of their late colleagues. James withheld a sigh. He should've known this argument wouldn't sway too many people; pirates weren't all that concerned with things like solidarity or honour.

Too much trouble for too little reward.

"Now you want to leave with the _Interceptor_ fine, go ahead, it's yours now. But you won't leave these shores before the _Pearl_ has gotten a crew in order to do the same.", James continued, ignoring the angry expressions around him.

"Or what? You'll stop us?!", one of the men yelled challengingly at him.

' _I really ought to remember some of these guy's their names'_ , James thought distractedly to himself.

Shaking himself from the thought, he slowly stalked to the unfortunate fool who had spoken, continuing until they were standing almost chest to chest. Still keeping his movements slow and deliberate James unsheathed the claws on his left hand, before lifting it level to his chest, running the fingers of his right hand almost reverently across the exposed bone. Slowly lifting his gaze from his claws, looking the other man in the eye, James raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's the matter, bub? You think I won't? Or do you think I _can't_? Because let me tell you something, you miserable excuse for a pirate, you're asking the wrong questions. Instead, you should ask yourself one question; how many men would I have to kill before you give up on running away?"

The man, who had been sweating bullets from the moment James had unsheathed his claws less than a few inches from his chest, almost fainted. Instead he gave a weak nod, before quickly taking a few steps backwards, trying to put some space between himself and the pissed off immortal.

Satisfied, James turned to look at the rest of the crew, gratified that the weariness had been mostly replaced with fear. Good. He could work with fear.

"Now, who here has the spine required to crew the most infamous ship to sail the Caribbean and hit Barbossa where it hurts the bastard the most?!", James yelled out.

Silence.

No man stepped forward, the motley crew looking at each other from the corner of their eyes, willing to see which person would be foolish or suicidal to be the first to accept, but nobody willing to be that person.

"How would you even get out of the bay? Look at her! There's barely any sail left on her!", the man who had called the _Pearl_ cursed spoke up.

James simply narrowed his eyes, causing the man to cower in fear and quickly rejoin the ranks.

"Simple. The same way we got her here. We row."

Fearful expressions were swiftly replaced with expressions of distaste. As little as pirates liked honour and solidarity, they liked hard work even less.

Again silence reigned for a few moments, before a few men stumbled forward. James raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting such a relatively large amount of men to accept so soon. His eyebrows travelled even higher when some of the men squeaked in a decidedly non-masculine manner, before they all scurried back towards the rest of the crew, who was looking as confused as James felt. However, as the men fled backwards they exposed the reason for why they had almost involuntary volunteered themselves.

Standing there with his hands on his hips, and a stormy expression on his face, the dwarf who had assisted James in taking the _Pearl_ looked James right in the eye, having shoved the men in front of him out of the way in order to say his piece.

"I'm in! When do we leave?", Marty, as James had discovered the dwarf was called, spoke up in his rough voice.

James grinned as behind him Gibbs chuckled.

"Alright lad! That's the spirit! Anybody else of you sorry lot having found any backbone as well?!", Gibbs roared, more spittle flying from his mouth.

Obviously not wanting to be outdone by a man half their size, a few others stepped forward. Seeing their colleagues step forward more and more men stepped forward as well. As mentioned before, pirates didn't care for solidarity, unless it meant they were left out of a chance for plunder or fame.

All in all, a little under two dozen men had volunteered to crew the _Pearl_. Gibbs walked forwards and put a large, dirty hand on James' shoulder, a grin splitting his beard.

"Well. At least we now have a crew. Sort of."

* * *

James heaved the oar with a grunt, sweat pouring down his back and dripping from his face, the men around him not in a much better position. Giving another heave, James looked up for a few moments, taking in the lower deck in a single glance, before bowing his head and resumed heaving his oar, trying to repress a shudder.

It looked more and more like the _Pearl_ had indeed been cursed along with her captain. The moment they had set sail, a dark mist had followed them, despite the clear skies and cool breeze, quickly losing sight of the fleeing _Interceptor_.

Truthfully, they didn't really need to row the _Pearl_ ; while not managing to show her infamous speed with her tattered sales, whatever curse was upon her made sure that the black ship still managed a decent speed.

None of the men were willing to trust the supernaturalness of the ship though, which was why not a single man protested when James' suggested they should be rowing in order to get some distance between them in _Isla de Muerta_ , as if ignoring the way the ship was sailing away without proper sails or any wind to speak of.

Giving another grunt as he heaved his oar yet again, James mused that by rowing as fast as they could, they could at least pretend the ship was moving on _their_ power and not its dark and mysterious own.

' _It's tiring as hell though.'_ , James grumbled to himself, feeling the sweat roll down his back in waves.

Hearing the sound of heavy fabric ruffling, James half-turned in his seat, seeing Miss Swann vanish around a corner, a mug with water in her hands and a worried expression on her face. He could easily guess where she was going and felt slightly guilty; it had been several hours now and Will had yet to wake up. The guilt immediately disappeared though when he had to heave the heavy oar yet again, remembering that, if it wasn't for Will's betrayal of Jack, he probably wouldn't be sitting here.

Deciding he had had enough of this charade, James dropped his oar and got to his feet with a grunt, stretching his arms above his head and relishing the soft pops as his back shifted back into place.

He noticed the rest of the crew looking at him warily, but he paid it no mind; they were as good as trapped right now, since they couldn't leave on the long gone _Interceptor_ and even if they were to stage a mutiny, they would still be stuck with a cursed ghost-ship and without an immortal to protect them.

As James picked up his shirt, a new one, not covered in blood thankfully, and made to leave, a voice stopped him.

"And where are you goin'?"

James turned to regard the man who had spoken, like him covered in sweat, but with a pinched expression on his face.

"We need to keep rowing the ship.", the man continued on stubbornly, not relenting under James' heavy gaze.

James simply gave shrug and a sad shake of his head. Like he had thought before, there was no need to keep up the charade any longer now.

"I'm afraid not bub. Whatever's cursed the _Pearl_ , I don't care what it is, but it looks like it spelled the ship to sail without the need for rowing or any sailing at all."

James shrugged again.

"Can't say I have ever seen anything like it before. I don't particularly care for it either, but I figure, since the _Pearl_ can get by just fine without me throwing out my back, she can go on right ahead.", James said, trying to sound unbothered by the unnaturalness of the _Pearl_.

His confident tone, and the realization that they could get out of doing any labour without consequence, apparently eased the mind of several other crewmembers, who swiftly threw away their own oars, before getting out of the cramped space with all due haste.

The man who had spoken up, however, simply pinched his face even further in disapproval, before turning back and aggressively began rowing again. James shrugged, not really caring whether the man wanted to tire himself out or not, and made his way over to where he had seen Miss Swann heading.

Briefly he considered how rude it was to listen in on other people's conversations, before he remembered that Will had done exactly the same around a week ago himself.

Consciousness relieved of any moral dilemmas James continued onwards with a spring in his step.

Walking the hallways of the _Pearl_ was as unpleasant now as it was the first time he had snuck aboard. There was something in the darkness that hung in the belly of the _Pearl_ , the shadows stubbornly clinging to the walls and unseen corners. The darkness and the decrepit air in the ship were offset by the gaudy decorations and the loot littering the decks of the ghost-ship, creating a contrast that somehow grated on the mind.

The rest of the pirates though didn't mind the expensive bounty found aboard the ship, no matter how creepy the setting. The haul from the captain's quarters alone had appeased the majority of the crewmembers already.

James was so deep in thought, he almost missed the door to Will's room. Slowly stalking forward to the door, he carefully pushed it open, thankful it didn't squeal on its hinges.

Peeking around the door, he quickly took in the room of the recovering blacksmith. It was surprisingly bare, considering the overabundance of tasteless wealth aboard the rest of the ship, mainly consisting of some rough-hewn furniture and a reasonably large bed shoved into one corner of the room.

The bed was currently occupied by Will, who sat with his back against the headboard, a damp cloth pressed to the side of his face. Despite the cloth obscuring his face, James could clearly see a truly magnificently purple bruise blossoming across the young man's jaw, causing the immortal to cringe guiltily.

Sitting next to Will on the bed was Miss Swann, who was pouring the blacksmith a mug of water.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you anything else, the only other thing available was that filthy drink those... _pirates_ , call rum.", the young woman said softly, though her tone became much harsher when she mentioned her current company, saying it with as much scorn as one would normally reserve for a particularly nasty infestation of a household pest.

James supposed it was fair though; Miss Swann hadn't had the best of interactions with pirates.

Will glared sullenly at the mug of water as it was pushed into his hand.

"I think at this point, I'd have taken the rum.", the young man grumbled to himself, completely forgetting that, as close as she was sitting to him, the young woman next to him could hear him without any trouble.

"Will!"

Which she evidently had, considering her outraged tone of voice as she scolded the injured blacksmith.

Will looked up at her with a startled expression, his eyes wide, looking like a deer confronted with a particularly hungry predator.

"For its... uhhh... medicinal purposes?", the young man hesitantly tried.

Miss Swann's glare simply increased.

"Water's fine though. Completely fine.", the young man quickly amended, lifting the mug to his lips as if in demonstration.

Safely hidden behind his door, James bit his lip, trying his hardest not to laugh out loud at Will's discomfort. Having regained control of himself, James continued to walk to the stairs leading to the upper deck, hearing the soft murmuring of an intimate conversation coming through the door. He decided that he would leave young Will to the tender care of Miss Swann.

For now.

* * *

Night had fallen, the moon casting the ghostly ship in a shivering cold white light. The men aboard the _Black Pearl_ were restless, the haunted aura of the cursed ship only amplified by the dreary night.

Both James and Gibbs had forbidden the use of any lanterns on the upper deck or near any nearby portholes, not wishing to broadcast their position so openly, not when Barbossa would be on the lookout for even the smallest sight of them.

This led to most of the crew being holed up in the lower decks of the ship, where they had lit enough lanterns that, had the _Pearl_ not been cursed as she was, there would have been some serious fire hazard.

Unknown to them, this saved most of their lives that night.

Standing next to the wheel of the ship, James stood with his feet spread and his hands clasped behind his back, staring out at the darkness in front of the _Pearl_ 's bow. Slightly behind him, Raven, in the form of Annamarie was at the wheel, having sent Mr. Cotton below with the rest of the crew after the man's high-strung nerves started to get on her own.

Neither mutant said a word to the other, uncomfortable with the oppressive silence hanging over the _Pearl_ like a funeral shroud, but unwilling to be the one who had to breach it.

Their silent vigil over the ship lasted for several more minutes until footstep shook both of them out of their thoughts. James turned to the stairs, expecting Gibbs or someone else with a report, but was surprised to see Will standing in front of him, hand still clutching a damp cloth to his face.

The younger man seemed uncomfortable, looking guiltily down at his boots, before looking back up at James with an uncertain expression. James looked back with a stony one of his own.

"James, I... uhh... Raven, would you mind if I... uhh.. spoke to James? Alone?", Will asked nervously of Raven, who in response coolly lifted a single eyebrow, before pointedly turning towards James.

James simply gave a nod, indicating that he didn't mind. Raven nodded back before coldly brushing past Will, leaving the deck deserted save for the two men now standing opposite one another.

"Well?", James spoke up gruffly, already guessing why Will had wanted to speak to him in private.

"James... I... I'm sorry.", Will said sadly, receiving only a raised eyebrow from James in response.

He hurriedly continued.

"I know that leaving Jack was the wrong thing to do. I really do. But James, you have to understand, Elizabeth came first! I _had_ to take her away, get here somewhere safe!", Will pleaded with James.

"We went over this bub, back in Tortuga. There won't _be_ a safe. Not for her and _certainly_ not for you after Barbossa realizes whose blood he needs! Nowhere can you run, nowhere can you hide, where Barbossa and his cursed crew will not follow. Which is _exactly_ why we agreed to go with Jack's plan!", James retorted harshly, anger seeping into his voice.

Will, however, was starting to get angry himself as well, his guilt about leaving Jack, coupled with the emotional talk he had less than an hour ago with Elizabeth fraying his already high-strung nerves, making him abandon any caution he usually would have employed when dealing with the immortal.

"And what plan was that, James! Can _you_ tell me? Because Jack certainly didn't! All I knew, and I agreed to, was using my blood to lift Barbossa's immortality so Jack can put a bullet through his heart! And _nowhere_ was it discussed how we would use Elizabeth as bait! So tell me James! What should I have done!? Because I don't know anymore!", Will shouted back at the clawed man, desperation creeping into his voice.

"I don't know anymore, James...", Will trailed off, sagging in on himself, his tone becoming so incredibly tired.

James regarded the younger man for a while, searching Will's exhausted face, before laying a hairy hand on the lad's shoulder.

"There's a lot of things that you could have done. There's also a lot of things that you probably _shouldn't_ have done. However, there is nothing now that we can change about that. All that's left for us now, is to think about what we are _going_ to do. Alright, bub?", James spoke, his tone softer than before.

Will nodded, before looking at James sharply.

"We take Elizabeth to safety. Return her to Port Royal. Barbossa has a crew, but no ship, in the time it takes for him to get there, we sail back towards _Isla de Muerta_ , where I give my blood sacrifice and Barbossa and his men lose their immortality.", Will said hurriedly.

"You're betting a lot on Barbossa being slow to get to Miss Swann, Will. What happens when he gets to Port Royal before we get to _Isla de Muerta_? It's keep didn't stop him from taking her the first time, what is to stop him from doing it again?", James replied, his tone firm.

Will bit his lip, before looking upwards, at the tattered black sails above them, fluttering in a non-existent wind, the bright full moon easily visible through the tears in the dark fabric. He turned back to James with a small smirk on his face.

"I guess it's a good thing we have the fastest ship in the Caribbean then, I suppose.", Will replied cheekily, getting a laugh out of James.

James turned back towards the bow of the _Pearl_ , amusement still clear in his eyes.

"It's a good a plan as any we've got right now. Guess there's nothing to it then, it would seem our heading is to be Port Royal.", James spoke softly to himself, though judging by Will's relieved sigh, the young blacksmith had heard his words nonetheless.

Both men stood in a semi-companionable silence, past grievances neither forgotten nor truly forgiven yet, but with a plan and a heading, not to mention a undead captain on their heels, both were willing to put them behind them for now.

The silence reigned for a few minutes more, only disturbed when Raven returned to the wheel, James telling her their new heading. James was about to send Will below in order to get some shut-eye after the young man yawned for the third time in two minutes, but when he opened his mouth a smell hit his nose.

He snapped his mouth shut, and his claws out, bending at the knees in a ready stance as a low growling started to come from his chest. Both his companions had known him for long enough to not question him, immediately grabbing their swords and falling into their own combat stances.

"What is it? What do you smell?", Raven whispered, her eyes frantically scanning their surroundings.

James managed to sum it up in a single word.

"Blood."

As if the word had been the sign of attack, thunderous booming and brief, dull flashes of light lit up in the inky darkness around them.

Will was only a second faster in the uptake than his companions, throwing himself to the ground.

"Cannonfire!"

Right on cue, explosions littered the entire length of the _Pearl_ , showering those on deck in shrapnel, even as others simply disappeared in gory fountains of blood, body parts, and smashed apart woodwork.

James breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the fact that the deck had been deserted for the most part, most of the crew being holed up below, keeping the casualties thankfully low.

"We're under attack! All hands, man your positions! Prepare for counter-fire! Step to it!", James roared across the deck, vaguely hearing Gibbs giving similar orders from below.

"Who is attacking us?", Raven asked in a panicked voice.

While James knew she could survive more than most, and had no reason to fear such things such as drowning should the ship go down, a sea battle was fraught with explosions, cannonballs and shrapnel flying around, smashing everything to bits. Something not even she would be able to survive.

Before James could answer her, or offer any kind of reassurance, Raven's question was answered for her as the unnatural mist that had been following the _Pearl_ ever since they had set sail began to lift, revealing their attacker for the first time.

"What?! Those mangy, inbred, motherless BASTARDS!", James roared in pure fury.

Because, cutting through the waves in order to draw level with them, portside aflame with the flashes of cannonfire, was the _Interceptor_.

"What?! Why?! Why betray us now?! They didn't even want the _Pearl_!", Will shouted over the din of the battle going on around them, ducking when another explosion ripped apart a piece of the ship's hull nearby.

"Why don't you ask them that!", James shouted back, before straightening and drawing his swords, his claws still unsheathed.

He made towards the _Interceptor_ , ducking and weaving around the mayhem that was the deck of the _Pearl_. However, when he reached the balustrade, one boot planted on it with a snarl on his face, James felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. Standing on the upper-deck of the _Interceptor_ , easily recognizable by a wide brimmed hat as black as his heart, stood Barbossa himself. Their eyes connected, and slowly, a cruel smirk crept across the skeletal face of Hector Barbossa, Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.

Looking across the rest of the deck, James saw the rest of Barbossa's crew, jeering and rattling their weapons, hooks spinning in their hands. The moonlight turned their bodies to gruesome forms of rotting corpses, bone showing through the tears in the rags that their clothing had become. Turning around to view the state of his own crew, James felt his heart drop to somewhere beneath his feet when he saw that the deck was almost deserted, save for the dead or dying. He still heard Gibbs shouting orders below in order to get the crew on their feet, which meant that they still weren't ready for a counterattack.

They were out of time.

"Prepare to be boarded!", James roared, making himself heard all the way down to the lowest deck.

And then the cursed undead fell upon them.

A familiar red haze settled across James' mind, as he roared in rage, slashing at every enemy stupid enough to get within his reach. Several times his body jerked as a bullet tore to him, but his rage dulled his pain, so every time he just straightened himself and threw himself at the immortal pirates.

Duck under a swing. Respond with claws to the face. Turn and block with cutlass. Feel the metal straining under the blow. Pain explodes as a sword catches him in the back. Ignore the feeling of it healing, alongside the rest of the wounds, and manage to catch the undead bastard on his claws. Throw him overboard. At least one pirate less to worry about. Lose any coherent thought as a bullet rips through his chest, even as he responds by cutting another man's head clean off.

And so it continued.

Dimly he noticed Raven and Will standing back to back, holding of more than a dozen of pirates at once, slashing and stabbing their enemies again and again, though the undead never stayed down.

He saw Gibbs leading the majority of the crew back to the upper deck, having fought a way through the invaders who had gone below. The man's shirt was bloody from an unseen wound, and his hair had escaped from his ponytail, falling around his head like a matted grey mane, as the overweight man wielded two pistols with deadly effect, even as those he shot down managed to crawl back up.

Then suddenly a sword was slammed into his chest, and James lost himself to the fighting again.

Later, James wouldn't be able to tell how long the battle had lasted, only that at one point the bleak morning light started to shine down on the blood-soaked deck of the _Black Pearl_. James was tired, his clothes bloodied and less than tatters; he had been in the frontlines of the fight all night, slashing and stabbing without regard for any wounds he received.

Even as a large cut across his face started to heal painfully, James couldn't help but let out a savage grin.

Though most of the fighting had been a blur, James' mind having been lost to the red haze of rage, he knew that several members of Barbossa's crew we're not going to get back up again. Cutting off their legs and heads with powerful swings of your sword and claws tended to do that to even the most stubborn of immortals.

It was why he was now surrounded on all sides by the cursed pirates of the _Pearl_ , twisted expressions of anger on their face, though they kept a wary distance from him.

As the standoff continued, James noticed that the sound of fighting had started to wear off. Glancing a quick look around informed him that most of the crew had been disarmed and captured, Gibbs with a pained expression on his face among them. Will and Raven were still standing back to back, though both were looking on the verge of exhaustion. James couldn't tell who was leaning on who.

At one point, several of the crewmembers had picked up on James' method of disposing of the undead, and several of Barbossa's crew were now glaring at his crew with scowls on their faces and various limbs in hand.

The slow, rhythmic, thudding of heavy boots approaching drew James' attention to the gangplank that joined the _Interceptor_ to the _Pearl_. There, striding as a king come home to his throne, walked Barbossa's, smug grin fixed on his, now human, face.

Yellow eyes landed on James' bloodied and tired form, and the grin grew even wider. Barbossa walked closer to James, until he stood close enough that, had he had any energy left, James could've speared the captain on his claws.

"I feel I must commend you, Master Howlett. I cannot remember having faced such a… tenacious opponent before."

Thin lips peeled back to show yellowed teeth.

"But, I'm afraid that your tenaciousness will not save you this time. And, I think I'd like my ship back now.", Barbossa finished, his tone falsely polite, yet still managing to mock him.

Before James could react appropriately, which at this point, the immortal considered to be spitting in the pirate lords eye, a feminine shriek of indignation tore both immortal's gaze to the middle of the deck.

There, surrounded by her kidnappers, stood Elizabeth, a cut across her forward and bruises showing on her arms. She struggled fiercely, and judging by some gingerly held noses and… private parts, had managed to do so successfully.

Her struggles faded away though, when Barbossa approached her, a noticeable swagger in his step.

"Ah, Miss Turner, there you are."

' _Miss Turner? Either Will popped the question a lot sooner than I thought he would, or something is going on here.'_ , James thought to himself, though he noted worriedly to himself that his thoughts were starting to get sluggish.

His body, tired and in need of healing, was shutting down.

"You left our hospitality rather sudden. I'm afraid I have to ask you to come back with us now.", Barbossa said to Miss Swann, a smile on his face that would make a shark jealous.

Fear began to creep into Miss Swann's eyes at the prospect of being held captive by the cursed captain once more.

Barbossa stepped closer still, close enough that his breath made Miss Swann's golden hair sway.

"I must caution you now however, Miss Turner. Your little… _escapade_ has upset me and my men most greatly. Should you try anything of the sort, well… the results would be, _unpleasant_. Do you understand, Miss Turner?", Barbossa asked, his tone soft now, his smile gone, replaced by a cold, ruthless expression that spoke of a cruelty barely held at bay by the man's restraint.

Restraint, which would be abandoned if Miss Swann was taken from him once more.

Turning away from the now terrified young woman, Barbossa began walking towards his quarters aboard the _Pearl_.

"Take her back to her chambers. Kill the rest.", Barbossa snapped at his crew, who all gained cruel grin at the order.

As undead pirates readied their swords or cocked their pistols, Miss Swann was dragged roughly away, her shrieks of anger now mixed with terror.

" _NO!"_

James head snapped around, as did Barbossa, to look at the wheel of the _Pearl_. Standing with his feet apart and a bloodied sword in his hand, stood Will, glaring down at Barbossa. The pirate lord merely raised an eyebrow in question.

"No? Why wouldn't I? Who are you, to tell me what to do, what orders to give to me own crew?", Barbossa asked mockingly, though a dangerous undertone was clearly audible.

' _Bub, NO! DON'T!'_ , James yelled inside his head, his mouth not responding to his desperate mental commands, his vision going blurry.

"Her blood won't work for you!", Will yelled, ignoring the resulting muttering of the rest of the undead in favour of looking Barbossa straight in his yellow eyes.

"But…"

An expectant silence fell across the deck. Barbossa expectantly forward, his gaze burrowing into Will's own.

"… I can tell you whose blood _would_ work."

James vision went black.

* * *

 **Fun Fact:** The soot Jack used in order to cheat during his fight with Will in Will's smithy, was actually chocolate power. Guess Willl's defeat tasted... _bittersweet_. Ehh? Ehh? Because of the.. you know.. chocolate... Oh forget it. _*Goes off to sulk in a corner. Again.*_


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** First off, I think apologies are in order. I have been promising updates for a long while now, and I have been breaking that promise for over half a year (last update was februari 1). And I'm sorry for that. But it was either a writer's block, personal problems, or simply just the fact that my other stories are doing far better than this one, but every time I would push back writing this chapter.

However, I have recently picked up writing again, and even though I may have stories that have more views, alerts, reviews and all that jazz, this will always be my first story that I have ever written, and I feel that I owe it both to myself, and you, the lovely reader, that I see this through to the end. Maybe a sequel is not in the works, maybe it will come eventually and naturally on the heels of this one, but rest assured, MotC _will_ be completed.

Thanks for sticking by me for so long, you people make my day.

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – Jack**

Jack woke up with a groan. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on something that was both uncomfortable and cold. Blearily blinking his eyes, Jack identified it as being the ground.

' _Huh. I don't remember deciding to lie down and have a nap?'_ Jack mused to himself, his brain still fuzzy.

Grumbling under his breath, Jack managed to right himself into a sitting position, looking around in confusion. He noticed a wooden oar lying beside him, and frowning to himself, he raised a hand to the back of his head.

He withdrew with a sharp hiss, the noticeable bump on the back of his head still painful to the touch.

' _Now_ that _I do remember.'_

Jack briefly smiled to himself.

' _You're following in your father's footsteps Will, whether you like it or not.'_

The smile was quickly replaced by a scowl when Jack realized that he had been abandoned in the lair of his enemy, with only his weapons and an oar for company.

Both of which would be useless against the immortal crew of Barbossa.

' _What to do, what to do?'_ Jack silently fretted, even as he got to his feet.

Hefting the oar (maybe he could use it to whack Barbossa over the head? Not that it'd would really harm the undead captain, but at least it'd make Jack feel better), our pirate started making his way through the cave-system, swaying unsteadily on his feet.

That boy had a _really_ mean swing.

' _Best get out of here as fast as I can. The lad probably managed to find his lass and hurry out of here already.'_ Jack mused to himself, somewhat bitterly.

Without Will's blood, he had no hope of finally putting down Barbossa, so there was nothing to be gained for him by staying here.

Stumbling towards where he thought the exit was Jack rounded the corner, gladdened to see that he had managed to find his way to where he and Will had moored their boat.

Of course, his happiness was being overshadowed by the fact that said boat was currently missing.

Oh, and the fact that, standing between him and the other boats, were what appeared to be half of Barbossa's forces, gaping at him in baffled surprise.

"You?" one of them said, mouth hanging open in astonishment.

"You're supposed to be dead!" another continued, sounding as if Jack still being alive was a personal insult to him.

"Am I not?" Jack asked with a frown, his head still fuzzy.

The cursed crew shot each other sidelong glances, put off balance by the unexpected answer. Not willing to stick around to see how long it took for his former crew to gather their wits, Jack decided to quickly and politely take his leave.

"My apologies, my good men, please, continue." Jack mumbled, giving a curt bow, before turning around on his heels.

Only to find himself facing the business end of a pistol.

Along with a great assortment of other guns and swords.

' _That would be the other half of the crew then, it would seem.'_

Looking a little beyond the barrel currently shoved in his face, Jack took in the maliciously grinning faces of Barbossa's damned crew. The sounds of hammers being cocked told Jack without having to turn around, that the immortal pirates at his back had their weapons trained on him as well.

' _Quick! Think of something!_ Anything! _'_

"Papaver?"

' _You bloody idiot!'_

There was a beat of silence, as the pirates stared at him completely dumbstruck, a few of them sharing confused looks. Having the sinking feeling that his life would only last as long as his adversaries confusion, Jack hurriedly continued, praying to all the gods he knew of (and all of those he didn't, just to be on the safe side) that he could get it right this time.

"Papaya? Parsnip? _Parsley_?!"

'What _are you_ doing _?! Papaya?_ Really _?!'_

' _Oh, shut it! I don't hear you coming up with anything better!'_

'… _Fair enough.'_

Jack was biting his nails now. He could see that, while the other pirates were still confused, many were apparently deciding that deciphering his gibberish was more effort than it was worth. While this was true for them, for Jack it was a little bit more of a problem. Just when he saw his enemies preparing themselves to start threatening him again (with a good chance of those threats being carried out on the spot) a spindly pirate standing close to him suddenly gained a light of comprehension in his one remaining eye.

"OH! Parley!"

If not for the fact that the one-eyed pirate was ugly as sin and twice as filthy (not to mention that Jack didn't swing that way) the captain could've kissed the man right there and then.

"That's the one! Parley! I wish to invoke the right of parley!" Jack said with a beaming smile, which was returned solely by the helpful pirate.

The rest of the cursed crew shot him venomous or confused looks. Sometimes both at the same time.

" _Parley_?!" a rotund little man with less hair on his head than teeth in his mouth whispered harshly at his companion, causing the man to realize his mistake, if the widening eye and the fearful looks aimed at the rest of the crew were anything to go by.

Growling at the other pirate, the short man whirled on Jack, waving a particularly large pistol under his nose, spittle flying from his cracked lips.

"Damn to the depths whatever muttonhead thought up parley!"

' _Hey, I_ do _know this one!'_

Leaning over while gently pushing away the pistol, Jack whispered in a conspiratorial tone of voice; "That would be the French."

"How the blazes did you get off that island?" a dark voice, oozing malice came from behind the assembled crew, who parted like the Red Sea before Moses.

Striding confidently, Captain Barbossa approached Jack, his yellowed eyes showing something between bemusement and anger. The rest of the crew looked from Barbossa to Jack, the same question on all of their minds.

"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one _very_ important thing, mate."

The crew looked as one from Jack to Barbossa, eager to see his reaction. They were disappointed however, when all their captain revealed was a raised eyebrow.

"And what might that have been, Jack?"

The crew's heads all turned back to Jack, who let out a smirk which showed several golden teeth.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Ah," Barbossa said, as he started walking towards Jack at a leisurely pace, leaning in until Jack could feel the cursed captain's breath on his face.

It wasn't a pleasant sensation.

"I won't be making _that_ mistake, again."

Turning dramatically to the assembled crew, Barbossa raised his voice and swept an arm out at where Jack was standing.

"Gents! You all remember, _Captain_ Jack Sparrow!"

"Aye!"

Barbossa grinned, showing crooked rotten teeth.

"Kill him."

The crew responded with pleased grins and once again trained their pistols on Jack, who had not moved from his position of leaning on the oar, nor had his smile left his face.

Calmly, as if he were completely unbothered by the multitude of weapons trained on him, Jack called out to Barbossa.

"The girl's blood didn't work for you, did it?"

Barbossa came to a sudden stop, standing ramrod straight. He slowly turned to look at Jack, yellowed eyes staring balefully at the relaxed pirate.

"Hold your fire!"

Groans of disappointment were heard amongst the crew, even as they holstered their many pistols and swords. Barbossa stalked closer to Jack once more, staring at him with a critical expression on his face. A smile formed on the cursed captain's face, eyes glittering with dark amusement.

"You know whose blood we need."

Jack allowed a similar smile to steal across his features, his eyes not leaving those of his former first mate.

"Aye. I know whose blood you need."

* * *

Oars (or anything remotely resembling oars) were quickly found, and the crew filed into the longboats with a sense of urgency, sped along by the promise of release from their curse.

Barbossa's spitting and roaring certainly helped matters move along as well.

Jack found himself sandwiched between the helpful one-eyed pirate, and his ill-tempered friend, both of them training their pistols on him. As was everybody else in the longboat, with the exception of Barbossa, who seemed lost in thought, rolling an apple over and over in his hand.

Soon they reached the mouth of the cavern, and after so long spent in the gloomy dark inside the cave, Jack had to blink his eyes to the sudden onslaught of light.

And opened them to an empty bay.

Silence reigned amongst them for a full five seconds, before it was shattered by a multitude of roars and cries of anger. Jack worriedly noticed he was getting a lot of murderous looks, so he plastered a nervous smile on his face.

' _crsh!'_

"ENOUGH!"

Barbossa's voice easily cut through the din of the crew's anger, one crushed apple in his hand. He turned baleful yellow eyes on Jack, who instinctively put up his hands in a show of innocence.

Not that that had ever worked before, but hey, a man can hope.

"What. Happened?" Barbossa asked, his voice soft and all the more terrifying because of it.

"Well… it seems as if my traitorous comrades decided to abandon me, and left with the _Pearl_ -"

"Take care of how you waggle that tongue of yours, Jack Sparrow, before I cut it out to put a stop to your lies! You came here on a ship of your own, and now both it and the _Pearl_ are gone! You _will_ tell me what happened!"

"Well, see, I was a little unconscious at the time, you know, and-"

With a few great strides, Barbossa had crossed the length of the longboat and shoved his pistol in Jack's face, who went cross-eyed trying to keep the barrel in sight.

"Do _not_ test me Jack." Barbossa growled softly.

Giving a quick nod, Jack stopped stalling.

"Allright, allright, allright! We used the _Interceptor_ to come here, and we took the _Pearl_. Best I can tell, the miscreants and vagrants I picked up in Tortuga, took off with the _Interceptor_ as was their due, and my dear, dishonest and disloyal friends took off, _with_ the _Pearl_ and _without_ me."

"And where are they headed?"

"I don't know, since they _should've_ waited to receive their heading from me, savvy?"

Barbossa narrowed his yellowed eyes, and leaned in a little closer, making Jack lean a little backwards, gun still pointing at his face.

"But you can follow them, can you not? Because for your sake, Jack, I hope you do."

"Well, I could tell you, but I'm not going to do that-"

' _Click!'_

"-because there is a better option! Come now Hector, you really think you can catch up with the _Pearl_ in nothing but half a dozen longboats and half that amount of proper oars?"

"So what's your cunning plan then, Jack? Sea turtles, mayhaps?" Barbossa asked with a sarcastic smile, though his tone was dangerous, and he had yet to un-cock the hammer on his pistol.

Jack, slowly and with exaggerated motions, went for his belt, and held up his battered compass.

"I can lead you to the _Interceptor_. I doubt they're feeling any sense of urgency whatsoever after just acquiring a new ship, and even if they did, they still need sleep, which you lot obviously don't."

"That still leaves me with the _wrong ship, Jack_." Barbossa growled, and Jack could tell his patience was wearing thin.

"Ah! Yes, but for how long? You see, whatever sorry mangy lot thought to sail away with the _Pearl_ , they don't possess the number to crew her properly. And, obviously, whatever curse is placed on you is also placed unto her, so I doubt she'll be anything more than a sitting duck." Jack babbled, trying his best to keep his grin, showing several golden tooth glinting in the sun, from slipping off his face.

He saw his treacherous first mate's eyes flick from him to the compass and back, a calculating gleam in his eye.

"And what, exactly, keeps me from simply _taking_ the compass for meself? To make sure your wiley ways won't lead me and me crew astray?"

"Other than the fact that should you then catch up to the _Pearl_ you still don't know whose blood you need?"

"I could spill all of their blood. A process of _elimination_ , if you will." Barbossa said calmly, grin back on his face as he leaned away from Jack and tucked his pistol back into his belt.

"Right. Well. Even then, you'd still have to _find_ both the _Interceptor_ and the _Pearl_ , which without me, you cannot do, even if you possess the compass."

Another pause, as Barbossa looked at Jack for a few tense seconds, before giving a sharp nod.

"On with it then. Show us how your compass will guide us back to the _Pearl_."

"Very well!" said Jack, and with a grin and a flourish he held the compass at eye-level and snapped open the lid, showing to all in the boat the madly spinning wheel inside.

' _I want to find the Interceptor. I want to find the Interceptor. I_ _ **need**_ _to find the Interceptor.'_

Slowly, the spinning compass came to a halt, pointing in a north-east direction. The moment it did stop, however, Barbossa whipped out his sword in a flash of steel, and hit Jack's hand with it, throwing the compass from his grip and straight into his waiting claws.

Not bothering to even react to Jack's indignant shout, Barbossa held up the battered compass to eye-level as well, and focused intently on it. For a brief moment, the compass switched directions, every few seconds, like a frightened critter, before it settled on a single heading.

North-west.

Almost completely opposite of the direction it had pointed at when Jack had held it in his hands.

A scowl on his face, Barbossa shot a glare Jack's way, who was starting to get worried at the murderous expression on the dark captain's face.

There was a tense silence, before Barbossa let out a growl, and tossed the compass back at Jack, before turning his back on him.

"We go north-east! Row, you sorry slobs and mangy maggots, row like the devil is behind you, because I am!"

And with a collective shout of 'Heave!' all of the longboats lurched forwards, in pursuit of the _Interceptor_.

* * *

Jack stood on the bloodied deck of the _Interceptor_ , feeling slightly queasy. To his left, a smile on his skeletal face, stood Barbossa, bony fingers absently stroking an equally skeletal monkey. On the deck in front of them, several shambling, rotted forms were busying about, lost in the ocean's worth of tasks that were necessary to keep a ship afloat and at top speed.

Each time Jack dared a glance at Barbossa's cursed form, he quickly looked away.

There was something unsettling about seeing shafts of moonlight shining _through_ the man standing next to you.

It had taken a surprisingly short amount of time to track down the _Interceptor_. The pirates aboard, confident in the speed of their ship, and the fact that their enemy didn't have one at all, they had forgone sailing away in favour of a big party.

This, combined with the endless stamina Barbossa's undead crew possessed, meant that they came upon the ship not long before nightfall. It appeared as if every crewman had joined in with the festivities, since there had been no alarm from the crow's nest when their longboats had come in sight of the stationary ship.

Not that any alarm would have really worked anyway.

Without any warning to prepare them, the sailors on deck were all taken by surprise by the sudden boarding party and were quickly being slaughtered left and right. Some tried to grab a cutlass or a pistol, but they were still drunk and bleary-eyed, and they too were cut down.

Then the crew below decks had heard the commotion above, and with bravery provided by the alcohol in their blood they came charging up the deck, roaring madly, and swinging their swords wildly.

They opened fire on their assailants… who all remained standing.

In the horrified silence that followed, the moon showed itself from behind the clouds, and on deck there was now a crew of skeletons, their grinning skulls and blood-stained swords causing many men to cry out in horror.

And then the slaughter began in earnest.

No matter how furiously they fought, how accurately they fired, how strong their blows were, the undead horde assailing them did not relent for even a second. All in all, the boarding had taken little under an hour and no man was left alive.

Jack, who had been forced to watch this horrifying scene on Barbossa's orders, had been dragged from his longboat to the command deck, one bony hand clasped on each shoulder and was told to navigate them to where the _Pearl_ was.

Even as he gave directions, Jack hoped his beauty lived up to her fame, and would manage to outrun the _Interceptor_ , but it seemed that whatever cursed Barbossa and his crew, was transmitted to the ship as well.

Already, the blood that bathed the deck had begun to seep into the wood and cracks with an unnatural speed, giving everything a thick sheen. The sails were now frayed and tattered, though there had been no cannon fire to cause it.

Instead of the lively yellow and blue colours of the navy, the blue had turned to pitch-black and the yellow had faded into some faded flaxen shade.

Barbossa had made himself Captain of a new ship, and already it was feeling the effects of the curse.

It also meant that they were moving with a speed Jack _knew_ that he hadn't been able to accomplish with the _Interceptor_ himself on the way to Isla da Muerta, despite his best efforts and risking sailing through a storm.

His friends, with as few as they were, and without access to the supernatural powers of the _Pearl_ , would, slowly but surely, be overtaken by the now haunted _Interceptor_. Glancing at the slicked floor beneath his boots, Jack hoped against hope he was wrong.

He wasn't.

After four hours of non-stop sailing, with the moon at its zenith and morning only a few hours away, sped along as they were by whatever foul magic had taken hold of the ship, they saw a shape on the horizon and it was steadily getting bigger. Despite it being only a blob in the distance, Jack already knew they had come upon the _Pearl_.

Apparently, Barbossa knew it as well, because with the creak of moving joints, he tilted his skull at his first mate, a skeletal being dressed in rags.

"Ready the cannons, and keep your voices down. The moment they'll notice us, will be the moment our cannon fire tears them apart."

Giving a grin, though it being a bare skull and all that, it always grinned, the first mate gave a nod, before walking to the rest of the crew to give them their orders in silence.

Stepping a little closer to Barbossa, and suppressing a shiver as he did so, Jack tapped the undead captain on the shoulder. Barbossa whirled around, his eyes clearly visible in sunken sockets, teeth permanently bared in a terrible rictus-grin, even as wrinkled and deadened brows drew together in fury.

"You sure about blasting away at your own ship, mate? The _Pearl_ is far too beautiful to be marred by cannon fire, eh?" Jack asked tentatively, grin plastered on his face.

"Ships can be repaired, Jack. But this curse is an affliction not so easily remedied, and I will _not_ have my prize slip away, not after a _decade_ of preparation! I will smash them apart in punishment for stealing that which I claim as me own."

Ignoring the sheer hypocrisy of the monstrosity in front of him, Jack changed tactics.

"But what about the person whose blood you need? They be on that ship, and if you use your cannons to blast them to itty bitty pieces, than you're going to stay cursed, like that, _forever_."

"On the contrary Jack. It will simply mean…"

Barbossa shot out a skeletal arm, and one of the undead crewmen placed a mop in his bony hand, which the captain extended to Jack with jerky movements and a smug grin on its bare skull.

"… that you had _better_ remember how to scrub a deck!"

Hushed laughter rose amongst the crew, while Barbossa gave Jack one last look, before turning his back on him to gaze at nearing _Pearl_. Jack's hands tightened across the handle of the mop, as he glanced from it to the back of Barbossa's skull with a longing glance.

But no; acting now would accomplish nothing but pain and possible death. As aggravating as it was, he had better play to Barbossa's tunes… for now.

As they could now make out the ship in clear detail (no lights, no doubt on Gibbs' or James' orders) Jack felt a crushing grip around his throat, as his vision was filled by Barbossa's emaciated face.

"You even think about warning your friends over there, Jack, and I will kill you meself in terrible and everlasting ways you cannot even comprehend. Got that?"

Keeping his mouth shut, Jack simply nodded, trying to squirm away. Barbossa held him close for a few more seconds, before giving a derisive snort and pushing him away. Ignoring Jack, who was rubbing his sore throat, the cursed captain looked at his gunner, and gave a nod.

And hell broke loose.

Later, Jack wouldn't deny the feeling of proudness that welled inside him when those few loyal to him managed to fight nearly three times as long as the five times larger crew on the _Interceptor_ , fighting long enough to force Barbossa's crew out of their skeletal state as dawn broke through the dark clouds overhead. At the moment however, he felt an icy coldness as he saw cannon fire blast apart the top deck of his beloved _Pearl_ and saw undead pirates assault his mortal friends.

Well, some of them were mortal, at least.

James stood on the middle of the deck, surrounded by over a dozen pirates and covered in cuts and blood. But still he roared in defiance, skewering and slashing any fool who dared come to close, even as they unloaded their pistols into him, or ran him through with their swords.

On the command deck, Mystique, in the guise of Annamarie, stood back to back with Will, their flurry of steel keeping any boarder at bay.

And Gibbs, stalwart, loyal Gibbs, leading a charge with nothing more than half a dozen men and twice as many pistols strapped to his person, covered in blood and letting out a fearsome battle cry.

But it was all for naught.

Even as limbs were crushed and torn, crippling their attackers, even as James rose again and again, even as Raven and Will increased the speed of their swordplay, it was, in the end, all for naught.

Gibbs men were captured, he himself too exhausted to even stand. Raven and Will had been overwhelmed, and were leaning now on each other, just to keep themselves from collapsing where they stood, the tips of their swords resting on the wood at their feet. And James…

… James looked as if he had been flayed alive. Surrounded by the shattered remains of his undead foe, every inch of him was covered in blood, his clothes reduced to nothing but tatters. And he looked tired, more tired than Jack had ever seen him before.

Thankfully, Barbossa had heeded Jack's warning to keep the crew alive, since they still needed one of them for the ritual. The cursed captain had not trusted his own crew to keep to Jack's description (which was purposely vague and unhelpful) since they had failed to bring him the wrong blood before.

It also had the added benefit that if Jack were lying (which he fully intended to do, should it come down to it) he still had the rest of the crew on hand, so he could still test all of them for their blood.

For now, however, it simply meant that instead of slaughtering everything in sight, Barbossa's crew started taking prisoners, even as Jack's people fought back with tooth and nail, trying to chop off limbs wherever they could.

It was surprisingly effective, Jack noticed with a sharp eye. While their cursed form made bullets and stabbing attacks all but useless, and made for a great intimidation factor, they were still exposed skeletons. And as James had aptly demonstrated so many nights ago in Port Royal's dungeons, bones break.

Without flesh to protect them, his crew's steel bit deeply into cursed bone, sometime cleaving through it completely. And while Barbossa's people were undead and felt little pain, they did not heal like James did, though Jack disgustedly noticed that they _were_ capable of pulling themselves together; apparently, even when separated from each other, the cursed pirates' body parts were still capable of moving.

But even with that advantage, Jack's crew was losing. The enemy was too numerous, too relentless, too terrifying to keep fighting against. One by one, each of them were defeated and taken capture, and with each crew member that fell, the others fell even faster, until they were all captured, surrounded, or, in James' cases, barely conscious.

Jack was jolted out of his morose thoughts when a feminine shriek drew his attention. Miss Swann, still looking beautiful, even after weeks at sea and in the company of undead pirates, was screaming and struggling as hard as she could.

Her struggles faded, however, when Barbossa approached her, talking softly enough that Jack couldn't hear what the dark captain had said, but having no doubt it was a threat of some kind. With Miss Swann looking pale and terrified at whatever the dark captain had told her, Barbossa turned back to his own crew, even as his eyes swept by Jack and lingered on him.

"Kill them all."

"NO!"

It took a couple of seconds for Jack to realize that it wasn't in fact him that had yelled that; standing tall by the steering wheel of the _Pearl_ , Will challenged Barbossa, even as tired and hurt as he was. There was a brief and heated exchange between the two, even as Jack was desperately trying to plan his next move, one that would preferably keep his crew alive (and more importantly, him as well).

He was brought out of his scheming by a tired statement from Will.

"… I can tell you whose blood _would_ work."

' _Bugger. This is bad.'_

As one, Barbossa and his crew whipped around to stare at him, and while some crewmembers were smiling cruelly, Barbossa looked absolutely livid.

" **SPARROW!** "

' _Yep, really, really, bad.'_

* * *

 **AN:** Awesome news you guys; both this fic and Hancock Initiative are now referenced on TvTropes! Which is AWESOME! :D

 **Fun Fact:** Jack (the monkey) is seen "smiling" when Barbossa thanks him specifically after he returns the Aztec coin to him after Jack Sparrow chases him. In the special features on the DVD it is revealed that the monkey did this purely by chance and it was not planned out in any way.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** I wrote this chapter in a single sitting of about six hours, and it's getting late, so you'll have to forgive me if I keep this AN a little short. Finally we have reached the end of my first story, after almost a year of writing. After this, there's just an epilogue left, and then I can change the tag form 'In Progress' to 'Completed'. I'll give a farewell AN in that chapter, as well as my plans for (possible) sequels.

For now, enjoy! =D

* * *

 **Chapter 15 - Will**

With a snarl, his tiredness from fighting throughout the night forgotten, Will lunged forward, almost dragging the undead pirates who were holding him captive off their feet, spitting out his gag as he went.

"Barbossa, you lying _bastard_!"

The dark captain turned towards him with narrowed eyes, and while most men would falter at the terrifying aura surrounding the black-hearted pirate, Will was both too tired and too angry to take any real note of it.

"You swore she'd go free!" the young blacksmith yelled, his eyes flicking towards Elizabeth in desperation, his breath hitching with every movement the gangplank made underneath her feet.

"Don't dare impugn me honour, boy!" Barbossa snapped back, baring yellowed teeth.

"I agreed she'd go free, but it was _you_ who failed to specify when or where…" the captain trailed off with a mocking chuckle, echoed by his damned crew.

Barbossa shot a glance at the pirates holding Will, and in response, they shoved the dirty rag back into his mouth and dragged him away from their captain, who turned towards the terrified Elizabeth.

"Though it _does_ seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?" he wondered aloud with a smirk, while the undead crew all laughed lewdly at the remark.

Will felt fire burning in his gut, but even as his mind was filled with rage, his body was flooded with exhaustion, his limbs feeling as if they were made of lead, while the various cuts that littered his body had started weeping blood once more due to his violent struggling.

Quite frankly, the pirates holding him captive were also the reason he was able to stand at all.

"So I'll be having that dress back before you go." Barbossa grinned as he stepped forwards, one boot on the gangplank while extending one claw towards Elizabeth, his nails long and blackened.

Elizabeth appeared scandalized, before she gritted her teeth and with angry movements started taking the heavy dress off, leading to even more lewd cheers and wolf-whistles from Barbossa's crew.

Even as he started to rage against his captors once more, a small part of him noticed that the pirates that had sailed away on the _Pearl_ with him and James had all looked away when Elizabeth had been forced to undress, and he was grateful for them showing her this comfort at least.

With a jerky movement, Elizabeth threw the heavy dress back into Barbossa's face, who caught it deftly out of the air with his outstretched hand.

"Goes with your black heart!" she spat at him, her teeth bared in impotent rage, making Barbossa grin even wider.

With slow, exaggerated movements, he turned away from her, and lifted the maroon fabric to his face, his smirk gaining a malicious hint.

"Mm… It's still warm." He mocked, and then threw the dress to the crew, who all laughed at the gesture even as a few of them got into a fistfight over who would be allowed to keep the garment.

Slowly, Elizabeth walked to the edge of the plank, accompanied by the jeers of the immortal crew behind her. Will desperately looked around for anyone, _anything_ to help him, but there was nothing; his own crew were captured, some even still bleeding. Jack was held separate from the rest of them, and appeared in a similarly bad position as Will and his crew were, if the murderous glances Barbossa kept shooting him were any indication.

And James had been literally pinned to the mast, manacled by chains and rope in a thick cocoon that hid his entire torso and arms from view. Not that they had needed to bother; the immortal was still completely out of it, his breaths short and shallow.

Elizabeth slowly slide one bare foot in front of the other, warily approaching the end of the gangplank, eyeing the cold waters beneath her with a troubled gaze. However, Barbossa's crew quickly grew impatient, their lewd cries and whistles turning into yells of anger and impatience.

A mountain of a man standing at the start of the plank bellowed out above the din of his crewmates.

"Too long!"

And with that, he slammed a foot down on the plank, making it shake widely underneath Elizabeth, who for a desperate moment tried to keep her balance on the narrow piece of wood. It proved too much for the young woman however, and with a shriek of fear, she fell over the edge, and out of Will's sight.

The young blacksmith almost jumped in after her, but a punch to the gut put a rather abrupt stop to that venture. As he was dragged back to his feet, Will saw that Jack was dragged forward as well, a pirate flanking him at each side.

As he was shoved onto the plank, Jack turned around, coming face to face with a smirking Barbossa.

"I really rather hoped we were past all this."

Barbossa chuckled, an awful sound that would make lesser men tremble in fear, and slung an arm around his former Captain's shoulders.

"Jack, Jack, Jack… Did ya not notice? That be the same little island we made you governor of on our last trip."

With a wince, Jack turned back to the cursed pirate, a pained grimace on his face.

"I _did_ notice."

"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape… but I doubt it." Barbossa finished with a smile, his yellowed eyes flashing with malicious amusement.

Smile still in place, he removed his arm from Jack's shoulders, and in a single movement drew his sword, and placed it underneath Jack's chin.

"Off you go."

Jack hurriedly took a step back, hands up in the air.

"Really? After I have led you to not only the _Interceptor_ , but the _Pearl_ as well? And this is my thanks?" he smiled, but his expression was grim and his eyes desperate.

"Well, seeing as how the _Interceptor_ be at the bottom of the ocean, and the _Pearl_ be shot to pieces, aye, this will do nicely as your thanks." Barbossa sneered back at him, knuckles turning white with the strength with which he gripped his cutlass.

Not that his anger had been entirely unjustified; the curse which had taken a hold of the _Interceptor_ and had granted her with supernatural speed had also taken a heavy toll on the ship. Combined with the desperate return fire from the _Pearl_ , which was far heavier armed than the navy ship with twice the amount of cannons, and the _Interceptor_ had barely been able to stay afloat once Barbossa had taken Captaincy of the _Pearl_ once more, no longer supported by the Aztec Curse as she had been.

The _Pearl_ on the other hand, hadn't come out unscathed as well. Barbossa had been utterly ruthless in retaking his old ship, and the first surprise salvo from the Interceptor had heavily damaged the upper deck, and had done a number on her hull. Even beneath Will's feet, he could see new planks of timber, the wood easily distinguished by being a far lighter shade, some of it cannibalized from the doomed _Interceptor._

What was worrying, however, was that the wood was darkening to a blackened shade before his very eyes.

Still, Barbossa was seething with rage at all the trouble Jack and his friends had caused, and the loss of what would have been a nice ship under his command, so it was with great vindictive glee, that he took a step closer to Jack, the tip of his sword resting lightly on the man's chest.

"Now, _walk_."

Any levity had bled out of the dark captain's voice, and his face was set in a sever expression, his lips thinned to a white stripe. The crew picked up on it and all went silent as a mouse.

"The last time you left me with a pistol with one shot." Jack hurriedly countered, with a grin showing golden teeth and his eyes narrowed in vindication.

"By the powers, you're right! Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward!" Barbossa commanded, his tone suddenly a lot lighter, while he removed his cutlass from Jack's torso, resting the tip on the new wood beneath his feet.

Will's eyes widened slightly when he saw the timber immediately turn a darker shade where the metal made contact, spreading out like an ink-blot in water.

One of the pirates hurriedly stepped forwards, Jack's belt with his pistol and sword in hand, which Barbossa snagged away without even so much as taking his eyes from his former Captain.

Jack peered at the water below him, before looking uneasily back at Barbossa.

"Since there's two of us, a _gentleman_ , would give us _two_ pistols."

He gave an uneasy grin, but his traitorous first mate was adamant.

"It'll be _one_ pistol, as before, and _you_ can be the gentleman; shoot the lady, and starve to death yourself!"

And with that, he threw Jack's effects into the ocean, where they quickly began sinking to the bottom. Jack's eyes widened, before he jumped off the gangplank in a graceful arc, barely leaving a splash behind.

The undead crew all roared in laughter, some of them giving each other slaps on the back as they jeered at the small form of Jack who was making his way to the island they had left him to die on once before.

As the _Pearl_ turned away from her former captain, Will could only stare hopelessly at the disappearing horizon, unintentionally mirroring Barbossa's words from before.

 _´All I can do now is hope that Jack hasn't forgotten how to use sea-turtles as a means of escape.'_

* * *

" _Arrr, shiver me timbers, arrr!"_

"Cotton here says you missed a bit."

"Shut it!"

Will briefly hid a smile as the bald pirate that had been swabbing the deck (and only dirtying it as a result) struck the cage that kept his fellow crewmembers captive.

Once they had realized that Barbossa intended to honour his part of the deal with Will, and that he wouldn't harm a hair on their head (where applicable, of course) the crew had taken full opportunity of this and had begun to rile up their captors whenever they could, with both words and deeds.

Mystique especially had been rather proficient in that regard, her words always the most cutting, while secretly using her shapeshifting to turn into her fellow crewmembers whenever nobody was watching, screwing with the undead crew's mind whenever they had to do a head count, most of them wondering why they were seeing double, or why they counted the same man four times, despite at one point having tied said man down to the bars of the cage.

After only a day, most of the undead crew were loath to come below decks, and Will had the feeling that these two pirates were being punished by Barbossa for something, probably for having failed him in one thing or another.

Will was kept in a separate cage, as was James.

Apparently, Barbossa didn't trust the crew that had followed James and him in taking the _Pearl_ , and feared that if he were to put Will with the others, they might just decide to kill him in order to curse the dark captain to an eternity of torment.

There was no fear of Will killing himself however; Barbossa had seen right through him, and recognized a man out for revenge and in love. No, Will would stay alive as long as possible, in order to get a chance at killing Barbossa, or at the very least, see Elizabeth one more time.

Still, the extra space was nice, so there was that at least.

He glanced to the cell next to his, where sitting on a chair, and completely covered in heavy chains and thick rope from head to toe, was the conscious form of James Howlett.

Will suspected that the only reason his immortal friend hadn't been hacked to pieces, or literally pinned to the floor with the nearest sharp object at hand, had been the fact that Barbossa _really_ didn't want to break his deal with Will.

The blacksmith had trouble understanding the dark captain's motivation in this, however. Was he really just that honourable? He had seemed angry enough when Will had implied that he had broken his word, but that could have just been for show. Maybe Barbossa was more worried about his cursed state than he let on?

Immortality had a way of changing how you think about death, or at least, that's what James had told them when they had been on their way to Tortuga. Was Barbossa worried that the hell his body endured in life, his soul would endure in death as well? Was oath-breaking even severe enough a sin to send you to hell? Not that Barbossa wasn't guilty of enough other sins to reserve him a spot in the Devil's Realm anyway, but still.

More likely was the fact that his deal would impact the results of the ritual in some way. After all, he was supposed to _give_ his blood sacrifice. Now he had made a bargain with Barbossa; his blood in return for the safety of his crew.

If Barbossa were to break his end of the deal, would the Curse void Will's part as well? It could very well be possible that if something like that were to happen, Barbossa could completely drain him dry of his last drop of blood, and the curse would still be in effect.

Shaking his head to clear his head of the black-hearted captain's thoughts and motivations (as well as to ignore James proving his conscious state by hurling every insult known to man at his captors), Will focused on a question that had been gnawing at him ever since he had been placed inside his cell.

' _Now or never, I suppose. After all, this time tomorrow, I could very well be dead.'_

He stepped closer to the bars of his cage, leaning his arms on the cold metal.

"You knew William Turner?"

At once, silence fell over the brig, the bald pirate and his one-eyed friend pausing in their motions, while James ceased his barrage of insults, glancing at Will with a searching gaze.

"Old Bootstrap Bill? We knew him. Never sat well with Bootstrap, what we did to Jack Sparrow, with the mutiny and all." The pirate answered, a grin showing of rotting teeth.

"Shocking." Said a dead-pan voice from within the cage holding the rest of the crew.

Will thought it had been Mystique, but it was impossible to tell, since the voice had been masculine this time.

With another snarl, the bald pirate hit the cage with his mop again, making it ring out loudly in the brig.

"I said, shut it!"

Giving one final glare, he turned back to Will, a grin back on his face.

"He said it wasn't right with the Code."

Will frowned at that, leaning a little closer to the bars.

"The Code?"

"The Pirate Code; a set of rules that all pirates are to follow, or at the very least a list of things that are frowned upon. Mutiny being one of them." Replied James, his voice harsh as he glared at their captors.

The one-eyed one spoke up, nervously wringing his mop in between his hands. Will's eyebrow shot up in surprise when he noticed that his part of the deck was actually clean, in contrast with the grimy state of his colleague's part.

"Captain Barbossa says they be more like guidelines anyways."

James snorted at that, before leaning a little closer, as far as his bonds allowed him to, that is.

"Tell me bub, do you know who Keeps the Code?"

Confused, the pirate nodded his head, making James grin widely enough that he showed off pointed canines.

"Captain Teague. He has been the Keeper of the Code for decades now."

"Very good bub. Now, do you know who is related to Captain Teague?"

This time, the pirate shook his head in confusion, and Will was amused to see his crew lean forwards in anticipation of the answer as well.

"Captain Teague fathered a single son. That son, is Jack Sparrow."

There were a few surprised gasps at that, including from his captors, and Will wasn't ashamed to admit that he himself was taken off guard as well.

While the name Teague didn't mean all that much to him, only vaguely recognisable from tales told of a legendary pirate from before his time, it clearly was a well-known name amongst the pirates themselves.

Apparently, Jack was the son of a celebrity.

Huh.

"And how do you know this?" the bald pirate asked suspiciously, beady little eyes narrowed as he glared at the still grinning James.

"Me an' Ed go way back. Saved his life once, when he was still nothing more than a little lad, fresh at sea."

"But that's impossible! I reckon Captain Teague is over sixty years old by now!" the one-eyed pirate spoke up, his tone disbelieving.

James let out a laugh at that, but it was harsh and cold, and when the immortal glared at his captors, it was with a fire in his eyes.

" _You_ couldn't kill me. What makes you think old age can?"

In the stunned silence that followed, Will turned to his friend, surprise lining his voice.

"You knew Jack's dad?"

"Yeah, don't tell him. Took me a while to remember the connection, and from what I picked up from Jack, he doesn't really like being reminded of it all that much." James said with a wince.

At Will incredulous expression, he elaborated.

"Teague is famous, bub. Right up there with other legends, like Blackbeard and Jolly Roger himself. It's hard, living in such a large shadow."

"So what if Sparrow is related to this Teague? What of it?" the bald pirate interrupted, though there was a noticeable undercurrent of discomfort running through his voice.

"So what do you think happens, when the Keeper of the Code, finds out about a crew that not only broke the Code itself, which is punishable by death by the way, but that they did it to his very own son at that?" James grinned, and Will could hear both pirates gulp in fear.

"B-but he can't kill us… r-right? We're immortal…" the one-eyed pirate ventured hesitantly, but this time it was Gibbs that replied.

"Aye, you may not die right now, but what is it that Barbossa has been trying to do for the past ten years? Lifting the curse, which means that you will be able to die as soon as he completes the ritual."

At that, both captors shot each other worried glances, and took a step closer to each other.

However, when Gibbs mentioned the ritual, Will was starkly reminded that said ritual would most likely involve his death.

He was running on borrowed time.

"So you broke the Code. Is that why my father sent me his medallion? As punishment?"

Shaken from their distressed thoughts, the bald pirate gave a nod and a half-hearted shrug.

"He said that we deserved to be cursed, and _remain_ cursed."

At that, the pirate glared at Will with such hatred that it took him by surprise, and he took a wary step back.

"Have you ever been thirsty, boy? Thirsty enough that you think your throat is gonna turn into sand with every breath? Hungry enough, that even rats start looking right tasty?"

With every word, the pirate took a step closer to Will's cage, until he was standing right in front of it, his head almost touching the metal, as his eyes bored into Will's with fury burning inside them.

" _I_ do. We all do. And _your father_ intended for us to be this way, for eternity!"

"Ain't a nice thing to do, not a nice thing at all. Stupid blighter." The one-eyed pirate whispered harshly, his hands now wringing the mop in anger instead of nervousness.

"A good man!" Gibbs cut in, causing the bald pirate turn back to him with a snarl.

Suddenly, he turned back to Will, his face now set into a malicious grin, making the young blacksmith even more wary than before.

"But as you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with the Captain."

The other pirate shambled closer, chuckling as he went.

"That didn't sit too well with the Captain at all. Tell 'em what Barbossa did."

"I'm telling the story!" his companion exploded, and for a very brief moment, Will wondered how they had ever lost to these bumbling idiots.

' _Right, the immortality thing. Almost forgot.'_ A dry voice, sounding remarkably like Mystique, rang out in his mind.

The bald pirate turned back to Will, his grin even wider now, and the blacksmith had a sinking feeling in his gut that he knew which way the story would go.

"So, what Barbossa did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstrap's bootstraps."

"Bootstrap's bootstraps." His friend chuckled to himself.

"Last we saw of ol' Bootstrap Bill, he was sinking to the crushing oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker!"

At that, the bald pirate gained an almost bashful look, as he drew back from Will cage and scratched his head with dirty fingernails.

"'Course it was only after that, that we realized we needed his blood to lift the curse."

His companion, slumped over on his mop, nodded thoughtfully along, musing aloud to himself.

"Now _that's_ what you call ironic."

At that, both of them chuckled, as Will drew back from his cage with a heavy feeling in his chest, while the other occupants shot the two laughing pirates dark looks. To many folk in the pirate world, family was a touchy subject, simply because most either didn't have one, or lost theirs somewhere down the line.

To joke about someone's dead relatives was considered to be in particular bad taste, even amongst the criminals and outlaws themselves.

"Don't worry bub, they'll get what's coming to them."

Will smiled weakly at James' reassurance, before hesitantly asking his question.

"My father… he had already taken a piece from the treasure… which meant he was immortal when Barbossa… when Barbossa did what he did. Do you think he's still there, at the bottom of the ocean?" the blacksmith asked in a small voice.

To endure such a hellish fate for more than ten years… Will wasn't sure he would wish even Barbossa such an end.

James was silent for a few moments, obviously trying to find something encouraging to say, before he slumped in his chair, the multitude of chains clinking at the movement.

"If he is, then just take it as another reason to lift the curse; not just to kill Barbossa, but to free your father as well."

Heavy thuds cut off whatever Will wanted to say in response, and his captors whirled around in shock to see Barbossa standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the upper deck, a disapproving look on his face.

"Bring him!" he barked, as he tossed a key-chain at the one-eyed pirate, before stomping his way up the stairs with heavy thuds which shook the wood itself.

* * *

"No reason to fret! Just a prick of the finger, a little bit of blood-"

"No mistakes this time! He's only _half_ Turner. We spill it all!"

A harsh shove in Will's back made him stumble forwards, almost slipping over a small mound of gold coins and goblets. While he had seen the inner cavern of Isla de Muerta once before, he had been rather occupied at the time, with the dilemma of getting both Elizabeth and himself out of there alive.

Now, however, while desperately trying _not_ to think about anything at all really, he could fully see just how much wealth Barbossa and his crew had managed to hoard in ten years.

Which apparently translated to something in between 'a lot' and ' _really_ a lot'. Literal hills of nothing but gold and precious stones, countless chests of rich fabrics and expensive art, jewel-encrusted goblets, silver plates, even crowns studded with pearls and diamonds, the cavern was literally filled with it.

It became very clear that Barbossa during his search for the missing medallions hadn't been particularly picky in what else he brought back as well.

As he was dragged onto the hill where only a couple of days ago Elizabeth had stood, the pirate crew began to chant, raising their swords, axes and pistols as they looked to a smug Barbossa, who was standing next to the chest of Cortez.

A kick to the back of his knees made him fall to the ground, and two sets of calloused hands forced his body to hang over the cursed treasure, while with exaggerated movements, Barbossa withdrew a small and rusty dagger from the chest.

As he did so, the undead pirates' chanting picked up in speed and volume, and Barbossa had to shout at the top of his lungs to be heard above the noise his crew was making.

"Begun by blood! By blood, und…"

As Barbossa trailed off in what could only be utter disbelief, Will heard the chanting of the crew slowly come to an end, only one pirate keeping it up (he suspected it was the one-eyed pirate), until it was suddenly cut off with the sound of an elbow meeting ribs (courtesy of the bald pirate, no doubt).

Against all hope, Will strained to lift his head, wondering if his luck was finally turning around and aid had come to his rescue. Maybe Mystique had managed infiltrate into the cave, or perhaps James had managed to free himself from his shackles-

"Jack!?"

Sure enough, swaying on his feet, with a shit-eating grin on his face, stood Captain Jack Sparrow, looking completely unbothered by the fact that he was surrounded by a crew that had tried to kill him not once, but twice already.

It was probably one of the _very_ few times in history, Will and Barbossa would ever feel the same about something.

"It's not possible!" Will heard the dark captain whisper to himself in shock, looking as if he saw a man return from the grave.

Which, in a way, was exactly the case.

Apparently, Jack had better hearing than Will had given him credit for, as he grinned at Barbossa's reaction, raising a finger patronizingly in the air, as he started making his way towards Will and his captors.

"Not _probable_!"

"Where's Elizabeth!?" Will asked desperately as he tried to straighten himself, the pirates holding him down too stunned to put up much resistance.

"She's safe, just like _I_ promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like _she_ promised, and you get to die for her, just like _you_ promised. So we're all men of our word, really. Except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."

"Shut up!" Barbossa snarled, and once again, Will found himself agreeing with his (im)mortal enemy.

"You're next!" the dark-hearted captain ordered, and gestured at the same pirate who had force Elizabeth off the gangplank, who grinned maliciously and grabbed Jack by the shoulder in a vice-like grip.

Another gesture at the men holding Will made them push his torso down over the treasure, while Barbossa reached over and rested the old blade on Will's throat, almost piercing the skin.

"You really don't want to be doing that, mate."

Barbossa paused in his movements, before turning back to Jack with a sneer on his face.

"No, I really think I do."

Dismissing the wily captain, Barbossa leaned in close once more, placing the blade on Will's skin and tensing his muscles to draw it across in one fell movement-

"Fine. You're funeral."

As close as he was to his enemy, Will could see Barbossa roll his eyes in utter annoyance, before straightening and looking scornfully at an innocent looking Jack.

" _Why_ don't I want to be doing it?"

"Oh because-" Jack paused, slapping away the hand that had gripped his shoulder with contempt, the pirate letting go more out of sheer incredulity than anything else.

"- because the HMS _Dauntless_ , the pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just off shore, waiting for you."

At that news, a muttering broke out amongst the crew, many looking apprehensively at Will and eying the chest with unease, making Will hide a grim smile.

Apparently, James pointing out that losing the curse would also mean losing their immortality, had spread from the two pirates with clean-up duty to the rest of the crew. Many of them were quite clearly wondering whether or not it was better to remain immortal for just a little longer.

"Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the _Dauntless_ , they do what they do best, Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet."

Barbossa narrowed his eyes at Jack, obviously still smarting over the loss of the _Interceptor_ and the extensive damage to the _Pearl_.

"Have you forgotten already, Jack? I already _had_ two ships, and then one was taken to the depth of the seas, the moment I stepped foot off her deck!" the dark captain spat, but Jack simply grinned widely in response.

"So don't step foot on her deck. Once your crew is finished with the _Dauntless_ , you can perform the ritual right here, and be freed from your nasty little curse. You take the grandest ship for your own, who's to argue 'bout that, and without the curse, it'll stay whole and wholesome, aye?

 _But_ , what of the _Pearl_?"

Barbossa narrowed his eyes, and Will could feel a fire burn inside his chest as he started to understand where Jack was going with this.

"Name me captain. I'll sail under your colours, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and _you_ get to introduce yourself as… _Commodore_ Barbossa. Savvy?"

"But for your plan to work, Jack, it involves killing the whelp. You sure you're not opposed to that, are you now?" Barbossa said mockingly, but his eyes were calculating, and Will could see the captain turning over Jack's proposal in his head, looking at it from every angle, trying to spot any traps, and seeing where the most profit could be made.

"No, not at all! By all means, kill the whelp! Just, not _yet_. Wait to lift the curse, until the _opportune moment_." Jack said, glancing at Will as he said it.

"For instance…" Jack trailed off, bending over and grabbing a handful of the medallions out of the chest.

"… after you've killed Norrington's men. Every… last… one." Each word being punctuated by a medallion falling back into the chest with a heavy clinging noise.

However, from the angle he was standing in, Will was the only one who could see Jack keep a single medallion in the palm of his hands, before his whisked it up his sleeve. The indignation that had been steadily been building while Jack finally showed his true colours came to a boil and he lurched forwards against his captors.

"You've been planning this from the beginning! Ever since you learned my name!" he spat at an unrepentant looking Jack.

"Yeah." The wily captain said, an innocent expression on his face.

"Well, what about the Code?!" Will yelled desperately, and he felt a dark vindication when he saw a flash of hurt come over Jack's features, before a neutral mask was slammed down over it.

"What of it then?"

"How would _your_ father react, when he finds out that you betrayed me in a quest for justice for mine!?" Will spat, and though Jack's expression didn't falter, there was a flash of emotion in his eyes as he leaned forwards.

"Then it's a good thing he'll never find out, isn't it?"

Barbossa apparently had had enough of being ignored and uncrossed his arms as he stepped closer to Jack, who gave Will one last searching look before turning towards Barbossa with a demure smile on his face.

"I want 50 percent of your plunder."

The demure smile was quickly gone.

"15!"

"40."

"25!"

At that, Barbossa appeared thoughtful, and Jack quickly pounced with a grin.

"And I'll buy you the hat. A _really_ big one. Commodore."

For a moment, Barbossa simply stared at Jack, before glancing up at the ratty black hat that sat on his head. With a grim smile, Barbossa extended one clawed hand, and Jack didn't show any hesitation in shaking it.

"We have an accord."

Jack smiled at Barbossa as both turned towards the crew. Barbossa made to speak, but was cut off by an enthusiastic Jack, who threw his arms up in the air with a grandiose movement.

"All hands to the boats!"

There was a beat of silence as Jack realized his mistake, before he lowered his arms with a stony expression on his face.

"Apologies. You give the orders." He said, clasping his hands together as he took a careful step back from a narrowed-eyed Barbossa.

"Gents… take a walk!"

* * *

"I must admit Jack, I thought I had you figured. Turns out, you're a hard man to predict." Barbossa's voice rang out over the now empty cave, catching the attention of the wily pirate, who had been studying a solid golden figure sitting on a throne.

Tossing the priceless artefact nonchalantly over his shoulder, making Barbossa twitch minutely, Jack walked towards his treacherous first mate, who was seated on a comfortable looking pile of golden coin and heavy fabrics, with a noticeable swagger in his step.

"Me, I am dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you need to look out for. 'Cause you can never predict when they are going to do something _incredibly_ … stupid."

And with that, he lifted a sword out of the belt from the pirate next to him, who had been wholly occupied with skipping stones. Giving the oblivious undead a harsh kick to the behind, making him fall into one of the shallow pools littering the cave, Jack threw the sword to Will, who, even bound as he was, managed to catch the sword out of the air.

The pirate guarding him had, like the rest of them, been taken completely off guard and was too late to defend himself from a shoulder-check from Will, sending him into another pool as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Barbossa leap towards Jack with an enraged snarl, who quickly drew his own sword, before he was forced to duck under a swing from a pirate that looked remarkably familiar for some reason.

Channelling the blasé attitude of James with the snarky one of Jack, Will couldn't help but let off a quip as he dodged the return swing from the pirate, allowing it to cut through the ropes that bound his hands together.

"You look familiar, have I killed you before?"

The pirate was taken off guard just as he raised his sword above his head, standing there with his mouth agape, completely letting himself open to a kick to the chest from Will, sending the smaller man flying away.

He quickly had to refocus his attention, as the pirate that he had shoulder-checked into a pool was now standing on the rocky ledge once more, dripping wet.

And he looked _pissed_.

He was forced to quickly back-pedal away, his sword-fighting turning even more frantic when the pirate that Jack had kicked into the shallows joined the fight as well. Then he was forced to fight even harder when the short pirate he had kicked in the chest _also_ joined the fight.

During the rapid three-on-one duel, the moonlight coming from holes littering the ceiling sometimes showed the undead pirates for what they really were, and at first they tried to use this to their advantage, trying to scare Will into letting his guard down.

Unfortunately for them, Will had seen James fight against the skeletal being long enough to know how to use it their cursed state to his own advantage instead, a full night of battling the monstrous undead leaving him fairly desensitized to their horrifying appearance.

So when the short pirate was forced back into a shaft of moonlight, his bare skull grinning in anticipation, Will didn't even hesitate for a second.

Jumping forwards, he drew back with his cutlass, before slamming the heavy handle of the sword into the side of the undead pirate's jaw.

His boxing lessons with James had focused mainly around fighting dirty; hitting all of the weak spot of the body, making sure that your enemy was in too much pain and too disoriented to properly fight back.

While he didn't exactly approve of such underhanded tactics, their usefulness was undeniable, and by that point, he had already sprung two criminals, and robbed two ships (though one only for about 15 minutes or so) so it couldn't really _worsen_ his reputation any further.

So he went for the jaw, since James had explained to him that dislocating one was fairly easy (if you knew how to hit it in the first place, that is) and extremely painful. What neither he and James had accounted for, however, was the fact that their opponent was _just_ bone.

Which is why Will himself was surprised as well, when the pirate's jaw gave a dry 'crack!', before flying away further into the cave.

There was a short beat in the cavern as everybody stopped in shock, even Barbossa and Jack pausing their fight in order to stare at him in utter disbelief.

"Ah, my apologies?" Will offered, and just like that, the spell was broken and the jawless pirate in front of him let out a guttural scream as he charged the blacksmith, who found himself once more on the wrong end of a three-on-one duel.

Vaguely he heard Jack call something like 'Try Parley instead! That usually works! Usually!' but he was too focused on not getting stabbed from three different sides to actually pay any attention to it.

From then on, there was an odd sense of cat-and-mouse going on, where the pirates were desperately trying to stay away from the shafts of moonlight, while Will was steadily trying to force them into them.

He got lucky as he managed to move himself in such a way that his opponents were in each other's way more often than not, allowing him to engage them one by one.

A feint and a kick sent the largest one and the jawless one sprawled into a heap of bones and rages in one of the moonlight shafts, while the third one dove at him without any proper guard to speak of.

The undead pirate was probably thinking that, due to being immortal, he didn't need one, but Will proved him wrong by stepping into the attack, and grabbing the outstretched arm. With a heave, he threw the pirate into a mound of treasure, where the skeletal being managed to get his head stuck in a large golden urn.

He briefly looked over at Jack's fight, unconsciously having noticed a lack of ringing steel from that side of the corner, but what he saw made his blood turn to ice in his veins, while his stomach fall away into a fathomless abyss.

Standing in the moonlight, with a sword through his chest, stood the skeleton of Jack Sparrow, idly examining the light shining in-between the bones of his arm.

A glint of gold drew his eye, even as Jack's voice rang throughout the cave, a smirk evident in his tone, even though he now lacked any proper face to speak of.

"I couldn't resist, mate."

A roar from behind him made Will tear his eyes away from his skeletal friend and raise his sword to catch a downwards swing from the pirate he had helpfully liberated from the terrible burden of having a lower-jaw.

As the pirate made to go for another swing, Will heard thundering footsteps behind him, and reacting on instinct, performed the same move he had done only moments earlier. Stepping into the wide swing, he grabbed the jawless pirate's sword-arm, and turning on his heels, shoved in into the chest of the undead monster that had come at his unguarded back.

The pirate let out a roar of rage, before trying to swing at Jack, who alongside the jawless undead, dodged out of the way, quickly hiding himself behind the man who had his sword imbedded in his comrade.

Said comrade swung his cutlass once more, making both his fellow pirate and Will duck simultaneously, before simply trying to go _through_ the obstacle in his way.

Apparently, the fact that this obstacle was his colleague wasn't much of an issue to him.

There was a beat of silence as they all looked at each other, both pirates with each-other's sword sticking out of their chest, before they tore it out and pursued after Will with incoherent screams of rage.

Will, being healthy of body and mind, and desperately trying to stay that way for as long as possible, did what any sane man would do.

He took off, as fast as his legs would carry him.

Unfortunately, the jawless pirate appeared to have cooled down enough to remember that swordplay was _not_ , in fact, his specialty, but bombs. He quickly took one out, lit it, and though he lacked a jaw, Will had the distinct impression that he was smiling, before he tossed it in Will's direction.

The blacksmith quickly dove out of the way, while a blast of heat and sound detonated behind him, throwing him hard against the ground, while showering him with pieces of gold and precious stones.

As he looked up, he saw the pirate who had gotten his head stuck in an urn glaring down at him, apparently having managed to free himself from it while Will had been busy dealing with the other two.

The humiliation of having his head shoved into an urn (no matter how fancy or expensive that urn was) clearly didn't sit well with the undead pirate, since his face was reddened in both embarrassment and sheer rage as he levelled his sword at Will's prone form.

"I'm going to teach you the meaning of pain." The pirate growled out, his sword gripped tightly in his hand.

"You like pain?"

At once, both Will and the pirate looked up in surprise, the pirate drawing the short straw between the two of them, as he was hit upside the head with a heavy oar.

"Try wearing a corset!"

Mouth agape, Will could only stare at the panting from of Elizabeth, dressed in what appeared to be an ill-fitting marines uniform, with dishevelled hair and bags under her eyes.

She had never looked so beautiful.

As he got to his feet, her eyes flitted to him, and she grinned bashfully at him while he stepped closer to her.

"Hello Will." She murmured in a soft voice, glancing away from him, though he could tell she was studying him from underneath her bangs.

"Hello, Elizabeth." He breathed at her, stepping even closer.

He could feel the warmth coming off her body, see how a breeze played with a few loose strands of hair, he stared into her beautiful eyes, studied her rosy cheeks-

"Hello Will!"

Looking up in surprise, he saw another, identical Elizabeth, this one wielding a cutlass, descend upon the two pirates who had been sneaking up on Will and the first Elizabeth, tossing a wave over her shoulder.

"Hello… Elizabeth?"

"Ha, nope! Try again!"

With that, the sword-wielding Elizabeth slashed at her opponents, making them jump back out of her range, before quickly looking back over her shoulder.

Her eyes were a sulphuric yellow.

Will simply grinned in return, before a rage-filled roar behind him made him whirl around and catch the sword of the undead pirate which Elizabeth had hid upside the head.

They clearly weren't out of the woods just yet.

Engaging in rapid swordplay with his immortal foe (something that he had a surprising amount of experience with, he thought absently to himself), he yelled over his shoulder at the two Elizabeth's now fighting the other two pirates one-on-one.

Already it was impossible to tell which one was the real one, since he saw them switch weapons at the most random of times. While Elizabeth wasn't well-versed in swordplay of any kind, there was no real reason for her to be; Mystique was good enough for the both of them, and ten years of immortality had played havoc on their opponents fighting style.

There was also very little skill involved with hitting someone as hard as you can with a piece of wood.

"Where's James!?"

He thought the immortal would love to be in the middle of this mess, so where was he?

"He went to help out Norrington fight off Barbossa's men!" one of the Elizabeth's yelled (he thought it may have been the original, but there was simply no way to tell), before she nearly took her opponents head clean off with a swipe of her sword, her back guarded by a second Elizabeth expertly using the oar to keep the jawless pirate from attacking from the rear.

' _I should've known that James wouldn't hesitate to get into the big fight. Wonder how he's doing?'_

* * *

 **Meanwhile, aboard the HMS** _ **Dauntless**_

"I _told_ you worthless maggots already; DROP YOUR FUCKING MUSKETS, AND GRAB A HAMMER!"

James himself was doing just that, using the two-handed hammer liberated from one of the two guards left behind on the rapidly disappearing _Pearl_ , his claws out and with a snarl on his face.

Having climbed aboard the _Dauntless_ after walking there over the bottom of the sea, he found himself in the midst of a massacre. Barbossa's men had clearly managed to take the ship by surprise at one point or another (a number of corpses had cleanly cut throats, an unusual wound for a heated battle, but common in assassination and sneak attacks) and now Norrington was struggling to retake the deck.

Salvo after salvo was released, but Barbossa's crew just kept on coming.

Quickly employing the tactics he used during the siege of the _Pearl_ , James started hacking his way towards where he could see Norrington engaged in a fierce swordfight with a skeleton with dreadlocks, the steel of his sword flashing with a speed James had only ever seen Will manage before.

Around him, the marines and sailors, too terrified to question his authority or sudden appearance, quickly latching on to his commanding voice and started to follow his instructions.

Those with swords quickly abandoned their useless muskets, and those without muskets quickly used the other end of it (or anything heavy at all really) to start bashing in on their enemies.

The effect was almost instantaneous. Barbossa's men, laughing at how some marines held their muskets by the barrel, and hefting the handle, fell on the marines like a disorganized horde of immortal madmen.

However, they quickly stopped laughing, when their limbs got knocked out beneath them, while their limbs were sent flying. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pirate go down, before a trio of sailors, all of them wielding improvised clubs, started doing their very best of turning the undead being into a pile of dust.

They were making quite a headway.

James himself threw himself into the fray, trying to draw as much of the enemies ire as he could.

Apparently Barbossa's crew still vividly remembered their fight upon the _Pearl_ , because his plan definitely worked.

James started fighting his way towards Norrington, who had either come to his own deductions, or had picked up on James' orders, because he and his men were fighting properly against the skeletons as well, Norrington himself slashing with measured strikes at the weak-points in his enemies skeletal structure, and soon, limbs and bones went flying.

James roared in pain as a sword entered his back, and he quickly turned around and skewered the undead pirate responsible on his claws, before lifting him clear off his feet, and smashing him to pieces on the deck below.

With a grunt he tore out the blade sticking out of his back, before he roared again as a salvo of bullets were unleashed on him. While he remained standing, the bullets being pushed slowly out of his flesh, he could see several marines and sailor drop to the floor, bleeding out of several little holes.

They didn't get up.

With a snarl, James jumped on the shooters, swing his hammer at knees, elbows and even skulls, sending more than a few flying overboard.

As he was fighting closer and closer in the midst of the undead pirates, he was cut more and more often as they tried to surround him. James quickly realized that they were trying to go for the same technique they had used when they had boarded the _Pearl_ ; stand around him in a circle, and attack from whatever angle he wasn't facing.

This time, however, he had a big hammer, with a significantly larger reach that the average cutlass, and he also had the marines of the Royal Navy at his back.

So it was with only some surprise when James suddenly found an ally at his back, holding back the enemy with excellent swordplay and accurate pistol-fire.

A quick glance showed it to be Norrington, who during the lull in battle looked back at him with a grim expression, a thin line of blood flowing from a shallow cut on his cheek.

"When we get out of here, expect a full pardon for you arrest in Port Royal, Mr. Howett."

James grunted, before swinging his hammer in an upwards swing, taking a skeleton's head clean off its shoulders and sending it flying down along the deck, smacking into the stairs to the upper deck with a sickening 'crack!'

" _When_? Not _if_? That confident in coming out alive are you, bub?"

A quick series of slashes, followed by a pistol shot, saw an undead pirate without both arms and a blown out kneecap, courtesy of the Commodore. Norrington quickly flipped the pistol over in his hand, grabbing the still-hot barrel with a wince, before swinging it at the skeleton's skull, making it do a full 180 on its spine.

"Of course. I am an officer of His Majesty's Royal Navy; it is my duty not to die here."

The two shared a quick grin, before falling on their immortal enemies once more, a battle cry ringing out across the besieged ship.

* * *

 **Back in the cavern of** _ **Isla de Muerta**_

"Whose side is Jack even on?" one of the Elizabeth's asked in exasperation, as she and the other Elizabeth and Will were all standing back to back.

Their opponents were still recovering from hits to the head, slashes to just about any part of their bodies, and one rather memorable kick to their family jewels.

Not ten feet away, a skeletal Jack and Barbossa were engaged in their own duel, rapid swordplay intermingled with dirty tricks and the mindless hacking away at each other of two opponents, each one secure in the notice that they couldn't die.

"At the moment?" Will asked sarcastically, panting lightly.

While so far everything had been going as well as it could be (he was still alive, for one, so at least there's that) he was getting _very_ tired. Having gone from one battle to the next for the last week or so was taking a heavy toll on his body, and right now it was screaming in protest every time he tried to engage his enemies.

' _When was the last time I properly slept?'_ he thought to himself as he caught his opponent's blade on his own.

' _Must have been Tortuga, I think.'_

He was shaken from his thoughts as both Elizabeth's called out his name.

"Will!" "Will!"

Looking up, he saw them hefting the oar, one end ending in a sharp point, the paddle having broken off during the fight, and then looked at his opponents. Immediately catching on, he quickly engaged with a flurry of strikes, taking the undead pirates off guard, before kicking the closest one away from him-

'Crunch!'

"Aaaaarghhhhh!"

-only to get him right in the way of the spear the two Elizabeth had jumped forwards with. It entered his stomach, went through the side of the jawless pirate behind him, and then entered the back of the pirate that had been just recovering form (yet another) hit to the head.

Before the undead pirates could recover, Will leapt forwards, rifling through the jawless pirates' satchels before pulling out a bomb.

Despite the pirate lacking any real face to speak of, he was still very clearly looking panicked, something only cemented by his frantic movements when Will shoved the lit bomb straight into his ribcage.

A push from both Elizabeth managed to shove the skeletal pirates out of the moonlight, forcing them into their human-looking state. The pirate without a jaw was an especially grisly sight, and Will could hear one of the Elizabeth trying to withhold a retch, while the other let out a shocked gasp.

Smoke came out of the jawless pirate's nose, ears and the hole that at one point had been a mouth, while Will grabbed the two Elizabeth by the arm and dove for safety, a massive explosion going off behind them, flattening them all to the ground.

Apparently, the jawless pirate still had quite a few explosives on his body, when the one _inside_ his body went off.

Clambering to his feet, while ignoring the ringing in his ears (and the bits and pieces of body parts falling from the sky) Will ran up to the chest of Cortez as steadily as he could, seeing Jack quickly slice his hand from the corner of his eye.

A few deft and powerful strikes brought the wily captain enough time to throw the bloodied medallion at Will, who effortlessly snatched it out of the air. Barbossa, tracking the medallion with yellowed eyes, took out his pistol and aimed it at Will, who, having stretched himself in order to catch the piece of gold, was in no position to dodge.

"NO!"

With a cry, Jack dove onto Barbossa's arm, which was jerked off to the side-

'BANG!'

-before going off with a deafening sound like a thunder-strike, echoing throughout the emptied cavern.

A dozen feet away, Elizabeth crumpled to the ground, a small smoking hole in the middle of her chest.

"NOOOO!" Will cried, his voice breaking as he fell to his knees, his chest crushed under an immense weight, as bands of metal constricted themselves around his lungs.

"Elizabeth…" he whispered, tears falling from his eyes as his vision darkened around the edges.

"Will! Will, do it! DO IT NOW!"

Looking up, he saw the blurry forms of Barbossa and Jack, wrestling on the ground, Jack desperately trying to go for his gun. Barbossa wouldn't let him however, constantly trying to free his sword arm, intent on taking Jack's head clean off.

Jack paused for only a moment, his eyes flicking from Barbossa to Elizabeth and back, before his face set itself in a grim expression. Letting go of Barbossa's arm, he quickly tried to get clear, but wasn't fast enough.

Barbossa's sword cut forwards like a viper, lodging itself once more inside Jack's chest, who gave out a pained gasp, before surprising both Will and Barbossa; with his right hand, he trapped the sword in his chest, jumping clear from Barbossa and wringing the cutlass from his claws.

With his left, in a single smooth movement, he drew his pistol, and shot Barbossa in the chest.

Once more the sound of a gunshot rang out throughout the cave, before Barbossa started chuckling, softly at first, but full-out laughing at the end. Working himself to his feet, his stance relaxed even as he straightened his crumpled black hat, Barbossa looked at Jack with a terrifying grin on his face.

" _Ten_ _years_ you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot!"

"He didn't waste it!"

Standing over the chest of Aztec treasure, bloodied knife in hand, Will stood on his feet, glaring at Barbossa with murderous hate clear on his tear-streaked face.

He dropped a single medallion into the coffin, making Barbossa's eyes go wide.

"That's for my _father_!" Will shouted, his voice breaking once more.

Barbossa desperately grabbed for his sword-belt, but a tearing sound made his head shoot up, looking at Jack with widened yellow eyes. Jack held his cutlass in his hand, having torn it out of his chest with a pained grimace.

Barbossa looked back at Will with the first true expression of fear on his face since Will had laid eyes on the black-hearted Pirate Lord.

" _And this if for Elizabeth!_ " Will screamed with a sob, letting the second medallion fall into the coffin, where it joined its brethren with a heavy cling of gold striking gold.

For a moment, nothing happened, before Barbossa gained a look of pain and confusion. His hands came up and ripped open his vest, showing the pristine white undershirt he wore.

A red bloodstain was rapidly spreading from a perfectly round hole, right above his heart.

Slowly Barbossa looked up, letting out a surprised little scoff.

"I feel…" he started, his face gaining an uncertain small smile, before it bled away into disappointment and fear.

"… cold."

And with that, Hector Barbossa, the Pirate Lord from the Caspian Sea, the Scourge of the Caribbean for a decade, fell into a pile of gold and treasure, a green apple rolling from his slackened hand.

And Will wept.

* * *

 **AN:** What?! A Cliffhanger?! I know, I know, but it just felt like a nice moment to end the chapter. Look forwards to the epilogue either sometime this month, or somewhere in November, if I'm busy with updating HI or OAT instead.

 **Fun Fact:** In an attempt to ward off the seasickness that struck the rest of the cast and crew, Keira Knightley took a travel sickness pill... and fell asleep instead.


End file.
